A Stroll Down main St
by writers-block-Bgone
Summary: Recovered and back on the job, Mac and Shelly take work slow for a while. The job was simple: take a camera to Main St. Amity Park, cover the Halloween-goers activity. Little to they ever know, that even the universe must exercise its sense of humor.  Sequel to 'A Stroll Through the Mall.'
1. Awake and Aware

-Hello to any new readers; this is book two, and will make more sense if you read the first book, "A Stroll Through the Mall."

Well, here we are with a first few chapters following a side character (Shelly,) and an OC (Mac.) Don't worry; I'll try and keep everyone as real as a fictional character can be, and Danny will show up here soon. Thanks for waiting!

I don't own DP characters. I do own Mac, and this story however, so no misusage of either please.

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><p>Chapter 1: Bad News Hits Hard.<p>

(Set back in time to the day of Phantom's stroll through the mall. POV: Shelly Makamoto.)

I'd just finished being interviewed by Tiffany Snow, via transmission. I myself was still stuck at the hospital.

"Well you can't keep me here forever, you know." I antagonized the nurse, while anxiously rubbing my temples, "The Doctor said, I'm fine, so I'll be leaving now. I have a life, and a job to do."

My assigned nurse tried to block my path, "We know that, but we need to keep you here for one more night, just in case. You were hit by an explosion, and it's amazing that you're as alright as you are." I started tapping my foot one the ground, "Look," the nurse began, "Why don't you just watch TV, like I wish I could?"

She tossed me the remote, and closed the door behind her as she left. I made a 'humph' noise, and turned the TV back on. Honestly, I get some time off of work, and what do I do with it? Watch other people do my work at the station.

Actually, watching Tiffany bumble her way into the interviews, allowing her own personal fear of the situation show; made for good entertainment…and job security.

I kept watching; they were talking plenty about Phantom, and the fight. When I realized just how much scientific information I had gathered, I smiled.

They talked through till Phantom's Boom of Doom, (I don't want to meet the crazy person who came up with that one.) They didn't examine the explosion in detail; or explain what exploded, and why it exploded. That's just the nature of news; I wasn't even sure if they even had clue either.

Come to think of it, I didn't remember much about the explosion myself. All I know, is the camera stopped functioning, and I got knocked out at some point. I remember things here, and there; but only bits and pieces. Everyone at the hospital thinks that head trauma's just playing with my memory; but I don't know…

Then Mayor Masters came on, live. I watched the whole thing with little interest, and a growing headache, so I turned the TV off, and went to bed early…

"_NO!" Phantom shouted, and spun around. I tried to follow where he was looking; but he darted away me. I lost track of him then, when soon after, sparks started flying out of the radio station._

_I gasped, and took a step backwards; but I didn't move fast enough. I heard an explosion, followed instantly by debris. I screamed, and tried to protect myself, when a large black shape came hurling toward me. I prepared for the worst…_

_The mass pushed me to the ground; but it wasn't as heavy, or as hard as I feared. In fact, it seemed to almost cradle me…the world went fuzzy, and my head, it hurt…_

_The fuzziness faded away, and became almost clear. I found the strength to open my eyes. Laying on my back, debris surrounding me…I tried, so hard, to get free from the weight on me. My hands slipped, covered in blood and unable to grip anything. _

_I groaned but couldn't scream out for help. My head hurt, but I still turned to face the thing pinning me down._

_My vision became clear, but my voice was weak as I looked at it…At Mac._

"Argh!" I shouted, and fell out of my hospital bed. _Mac!_ "MAC!" I shouted out, alarming every nurse in the hall.

They came running in, too many for my throbbing head to count. They leaned down to me, and started asking rapid-fire questions…

Finally, I turned to them, "Where's Mac?" They gave me blank looks, "Mac Davis? The cameraman!" _The one who protected me,_ my upset head thought.

The nurses scrambled to get me off the floor, "Mac Davis?" I nodded impatiently, "Christina, go find this Mac Davis, she'll never shut up unless we do."

I glared at her, "shut up?" I said, "May I remind you, who's the client here."

The nurse flinched, "You are. I'm sorry, that was unprofessional of me."

"Uh-huh, fine." I glared at her again; I knew all she wanted was to keep me from going to her boss about it…

The nurse Christina came back into the room, "I think I found Max."

"MAC," I corrected harshly.

"Mac, right sorry. I guess the hour's getting to me. This way please."

I was expecting to go to his room. Instead, Christina took me to a computer where she typed in a few things. I took the time to look at a wall-clock reading 2:30-ish. I blinked a few times, and looked towards a black window down the hall. Apparently, it was 2:30-ish A.M. not P.M. I took that as the reason for why I couldn't see Mac directly, and calmed down a bit.

"Here we are," the nurse announced. "Mac Davis. Age 25. That him?"

I nodded, glancing at a small photo I.D of him on the screen anxiously, "Without a doubt."

"Oh, Well, um." I made an urging grunt, "It says here, that Mac Davis is currently in the ICU…"

_(A/N you are SO lucky I'm not leaving you here.)_

"He's where?" I asked plainly.

"The ICU Miss."

My mind crashed, I swayed and leaned on the desk. "No…" I said, weakly.

"It says that," she went on, "he's unconscious for the moment, and fairly severely injured; but nothing to cause permanent damage. He's due to leave in six weeks, give or take."

My brain couldn't function, "Thank you," I managed to say. I turned back around, and headed for my room. Mac…had protected me, saved my life. For God's sake! He saved my life, and now, now…how long would it be, before he could start living life again?

I collapsed in my bed and sobbed quietly. I guess I was feeling a bit guilty after everything he'd done for me. All I'd been thinking about was my paycheck…what a jerk I must've been…

My sobs quieted down, and I fell asleep. My worries drifted away with my consciousness, and my dreams didn't bother me again.

…

I woke up around noon with a throbbing head, and a doctor prodding me.

"Leave me alone. Head hurt." I grumbled out.

The Doctor, Alexander didn't look amused. "You were complaining all day yesterday, and now I'm giving you the chance to leave." He had my attention, "I've called in your Mother, and she's on her way over. Here are your pain medications, and if you don't mind and don't have any questions, I'll be on my way."

I waved him off, and collapsed back into bed. _What's with this hospital?_ I thought they could've been a bit more polite.

A few minutes later, the door to my room slid open again revealing my exhausted looking mother.

"Oh, my baby!" she shouted, gaining the attention of everyone on our floor.

My hands held my head steady, "Mom, cut the shouting you're hurting my head."

She grabbed me in a tight hug, agitating my bruises. "Oh Shelly, I'm so sorry. How badly does your head hurt?"

"On a scale of one to ten? You." I said rudely. I flinched and apologized immediately.

"Don't worry Shelly," Mom consoled me, "I'd be a little quick to quip too, if I were in your shoes. Come with me, I'll drive you home and stay with you for a few days."

I nodded, honestly relieved by her company. "Hey, Mom? Can you do me a favor, and see if Mac's woken up yet?"

"I already did; he hasn't, Shelly. He's still out, due to blood loss." Frowning, my Mom helped me up, and walked slowly with me out of the building-

Where we spent the next half-hour trying to find the car. "How big of a rush were you in, anyway?"

"Oh, don't ask sweetheart. You're not a mother, you wouldn't understand."

I sighed. Mom was stressed, and I knew I shouldn't pick on her anymore. Besides, it wasn't just me she was worried about.

Mac had it ruff as a kid, so when we became friends in middle school, he started spending most of his time around me and my brothers. Coming over in the morning, going to school, and hanging out with us afterwards. It stayed that way through high school as well. Then Mac took some jobs, and started college early. He took various photography and production courses, while later on, I studied to become a news anchor. When Mac graduated, and landed a job at channel 4 he introduced me to his boss, and got me my first job.

Since then, we stayed friends, and Mac was still a frequent visitor at home. After all these years, I guess I just stopped thinking about him. He's always been there for my family and me; he made us see the silver lining in life…

I swore to myself, there in the parking lot that somehow, I would make it up to him…

Finally, we managed to find my Mothers' silver Volvo, exactly where she was sure she hadn't parked it.

I got in, and swallowed a few painkillers. Shutting my eyes, I focused on not throwing up as the engine started up, and the radio came on.

Cringing, I fumbled for the volume control, "No radio, please."

My Mom shut it off, "I'm sorry sweetheart, does your head feel any better?" I gave a sideways glance as a warning to be quiet, and to not ask standard questions with standard answers. "Well, I was just asking," mom gave me an odd look, her eyes blinking tiredly at me, "When you feel better, there are some things I'd like to talk with you about."

I groaned, and waved off her comment before resting my head, and sleeping during the drive home.

_(Two days later.)_

I picked up the phone; mom was out grocery shopping, and my headache was gone, at last. It was time to throw myself back into the world again.

"Yes?" I groaned into the phone, "Unless it's important, you've got five seconds."

"Shelly?" I flinched away from the phone. There's only one person in the world I knew with a voice like that.

"What is it, Tiffany?" I snapped, "If you hadn't noticed, I'm on break due to the fact that my head explodes at the sound of your voice."

"Shelly, is that you?" Miss. Oblivious asked again.

I gripped the phone tightly, "Yes, it's me. Who were you expecting; Zorro and the seven dwarves?"

There was a pause, "Wow, you sound a lot like your Mother."

It was my turn to pause, "I didn't know you knew my Mom."

"I don't, really. I've called a few times and she picked up. She wouldn't let me speak to you, though."

I took note of that, "Alright, well I'm listening. What's so worth getting a hold of me for?"

"You mean you have absolutely NO idea what just happened a few day ago?"

I stiffened, "Does this involve Mac?" She told me no, I sighed with relief. "Then enlighten me, if you will." She ranted on about what'd happened in my absence, and made me promise to watch the station's video of the events.

I did, and was intrigued. Phantom pulled a stunt like that? This was _huge,_ the whole world was raving about it. I called up a few acquaintances at the station immediately. Not only was the fight between Ember and Phantom one of the worlds fastest spreading events; Phantom's charade had spread just as far, twice as fast.

Our station was gaining more in profit then most every other station combined. The boss was very happy about that apparently; I even called him up, and got a dose of that gratefulness over the phone.

Overall, everything was going swimmingly. Except for Mac…

I walked up and down the hallway, attempting to cool down. I couldn't help but worry until my headache came back to haunt me. Groaning, I went to my room and laid down for a nap. How hard had I hit my head, exactly?

The pain was subsiding, and I was almost asleep when I heard my mother come inside with the groceries. Calming down even more with her back, I opened my eyes when the phone when off in the other room.

I heard her answer it; her words were muffled too much for me to hear what she was saying. After a minute, she came into my room in a hurry; I gave her a questioning look.

She sighed, "I'm glad you're awake, that was the hospital. Mac woke up a few minutes ago."

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><p>And this is where I leave you, I know it's not Sunday; but I don't want to be fiddling with this all weekend. I've got a laundry list of things that I don't have to do, but I'm doing anyway for my Mom.<p>

So, here is how I think I'm going to take this story. -A few chapters following Mac and Shelly, and their recovery over a few months. -A few chapters following Danny and Danni, (the idea here, is that Danny summarizes a few months of finding out more about his powers with Danni, while training together.) -Then, the two POV's meet just before Halloween, and then the fun begins.

Anymore, and I might spoil something, and we don't want that to happen now, do we? ;)

So yeah, a long the lines of the first book's POV toss, and just like the last book It should be a lot of story, in fewer but very LONG chapters. (I still can't believe the length of a lot of my past updates. Here's hoping I can keep it up.)

Well then, as usual. See you Sunday!


	2. Seriously Pranked

Back, and glad I pumped this one out; the story has been moving quicker then I expected, and I had fun writing this one. Soon, we'll get to the juicy stuff!

Standard stuff: Don't own DP, but I have multiple OC's. (Shelly's Mom, Sean, Derik, Mac, and a few others.) Please respect my rights to them and this story.

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><p>Chapter 2: Seriously Pranked.<p>

(POV: of Shelly Makamoto.)

My Mother and I were in the car and out the driveway before we knew it. I ignored my protesting head; we were driving to the hospital to see Mac, and I wasn't going to let a little pain stop us. Mom made a phone call to my brother, telling him to meet us at the hospital since it was his lunch hour, and he was only a few blocks away.

Our drive lasted only ten minutes; but seemed so much longer. Mom parked the car, and we headed towards the hospital, and towards the ICU. The automatic doors slid open, and we entered the standard hospital. My Mother approached the counter and asked about Mac. She got a floor, and room number the rest was on us. Had my Mother been as hasty as me, she would've taken the stairs with me, on impulse. Thankfully, she was still composed enough to keep me from climbing up three flights worth of stairs in my condition.

Thus, came the awkward silence between strangers on the way up. You know what I mean. The kind that keeps you from talking to anyone, and leaves you feeling like you have no to room to breathe. I ran a hand through my hair, why couldn't I get my priorities straight? My Mom snapped me out of my thoughts. Apparently, I was spacing out again. I looked at my Mom as we filed out of the elevator; Mac usually kept me from spacing out like that…

My Mom pulled me down various hallways by my wrist since I'd proven that I still wasn't functioning normally yet. She asked for directions once or twice, and counted door numbers as we passed them. Finally, we came to room #423 and stopped. My Mother confirmed Mac's name on a tab hanging next to the door.

I took a few breaths, leaning my head back and straining my ears for any sign of Mac's voice. A glance was exchanged between my Mother and me; then I opened the door and walked in.

I took a single step forward, "Mac?" My Mother slid past me, and walked up hesitantly to the bed. I looked away, jumping slightly when I noticed my brother, Sean standing over Mac at the opposite side of the bed. He must've arrived a while ago.

Gathering my strength, I walked past the bed syncing my steps with Mac's heart-rate monitor. I slipped open the curtains, and joined my Mother on the side of the bed closest to the door.

My Mother was tense as she looked over Mac's sleeping form. I found my wits, and spoke to Sean, "Did he even wake up at all?"

Sean nodded solemnly, "Yeah, he woke up and said a few things…talked to the doctor too…"

I took a deep breath, "And?" My heartbeat faster and faster in my chest, I half-listened to Mac's heart-rate monitor beep faster, and faster as well. Why would it do that, he was sleeping?

Sean hid his face from me, "Well...he's…"

Mother audibly gulped.

Sean looked me in the eye with a straight face, "He's pregnant."

I blanched, _the heck?_

I heard giggling from below me, and then Sean burst into laughter. I snapped out of _another _trance and looked between Mac and Sean. They were laughing! Well, Sean was; Mac was giggling in a way that wouldn't hurt him too much.

Sean pointed a finger at me, "YOU should've seen the _look_ on your f_ace_!" He laughed some more. I stood frozen, my brain not quite catching up to the fact that my Mother and I; had been duped. Duped in a very cruel and unusual way by two loved ones.

Mom acted before I could, stampeding around the bed, and tackling my brother to the ground. She started slapping him everywhere she could. Sean, on the receiving end, protected his face and still managed to giggle.

She kept slapping rapidly, "Why you no-good little!"

My face paled even more, and Mac stopped laughing, his face turned terrified. My Mother, the last person I would ever think of was (of all things) cursing out my big brother.

Mac and I flinched in sync; we didn't even think she knew how to swear. Mac gave me a pleading look, I smirked, 'Hey, you know he had it coming' written all over my face.

Seconds later, it stopped and my Mother stood up and glared daggers at Sean. Sean by the way, looked paler then a polar bear by this point. I couldn't help but feel that yes, justice had been served that day.

He got up, "Um, heh-heh don't you think that was-"

"NO, that was NOT a little too much, young Man." My Mother said firmly, "That was inexcusable, BOTH of you." She looked at Mac.

"Don't hurt me," Mac squeaked quietly, "I'm imfirm."

"That's _in_firm, nitwit." I corrected harshly, Mac smiled at me.

"Thanks; but anyway, the doctor said I'll be out in two, maybe three weeks. It wasn't as bad at they first thought."

I sighed, "But how long until you fully recover?"

"Oh," Mac stuttered, "six to eight weeks." He smiled up at me tiredly, "Don't worry, I can handle it. Plus, the station pays me to sit here and recover; they're also covering the bills too, since these were 'on the job' injuries."

My Mother nodded, "Good thing then, I'd rather the station take care of you then some insurance company."

"Yeah," Sean snorted, "the station doesn't label 'on the job injuries' as 'preexisting conditions.'"

We all laughed together, if we hadn't been in the hospital, things would've been the same as always…

…

The next two and a-half weeks were spent visiting the hospital, recovering, and getting back into life again. Mac and I, were surprised with a welcome back party at the station. Even though Mac could've gotten away with staying away from work, he decided to hang around and do office work and camera maintenance. Three weeks of that, and he was finally ready to go back out into the field, with some therapy sessions as his only medical procedures to expect.

Time passed by, and Mac was almost completely recovered when we were both called to the Boss' office.

We entered the office of Mr. Derik Anderson, and sat down in front of his desk…

"Hello Shelly, Mac." He said politely, smiling towards up with brown eyes, shinning beneath his neatly cut chestnut hair.

"Hello, Sir." Mac and I took turns saying, respectively.

He looked at us cautiously, "Look." He began, "I know that you've still got some problems Mac; but I need you out in the field again with Shelly." Mac gave our Boss an excited and slightly hesitant smile. "Listen, just relax, and ease yourself back into the game. Heaven knows all this drama about Danny Phantom, had ruffled your feathers enough as it is. Just try and avoid anything ghostly for a while; I won't send you out to meet up with anything directly involving ghosts for quite some time."

We nodded, "So, what's the job?" Mac asked.

"Halloween is only a weak away, so back in Mall Town Main St. they've decided to hold a kind of festival-event. Apparently, with all the ghosts running around, Halloween has become the second most popular holiday in this city. Your job, is to go out there and film the festival goers, and get a few mini-interviews when you can."

Mac shifted in his chair, "That's it?"

Derik nodded, "It'll be you, Shelly, the usually Ghost-Watch crew. Not an important story; but the world's watching Amity Park closely these days." His eyes darkened, "The world has spoken, they want to know as much about Amity Park as possible."

Derik turned his computer around, showing us an article on the screen, "Which reminds me; take a look at this…"

Mac blinked reading ahead of me, "Are you serious?"

I stood up, and leaned closer to the screen; the article read.

"**According to the top four largest cable providers, a new station will be provided to their customers. Abbreviated PHAN; the 'Paranormal Hotspot American Network' is compiling footage of the paranormal to broadcast nationwide."**

"**This, along with it's sister radio station, APGS ('Amity Park Ghost Station' which; after being demolished has been rebuilt into a studio, and is currently creating programs to broadcast on PHAN.) The programming will consist of: history, paranormal, reality, and lesser subjects that have some link to the paranormal."**

"**The rising of the network has spurred up plenty of controversy. Both from religious groups, and concerned civilians who believe that the reward for ghostly footage will tempt children, and teens into doing something dangerous."**

"**My son is fascinated by ghosts, and wouldn't mind lining his pockets if it meant all he had to do, was film them." –said a concerned Mother."**

"**The second biggest concern from all around, is what has been labeled a 'bounty-system,' by many. The broadcasting company will pay for footage, according to: the quality/quantity, the ghost on the film, and the scenario the ghost is involved in."**

"**A dangerous ghost such as the infamous Danny Phantom; would fetch a high price for his popularity, and battle powers. Due to recent events concerning Danny Phantom (see- "Phantom's Wrath" by Cindy Archwall) many Amity Park parents have expressed deep concern, and anger towards the bounty system. Weather the PHAN will get on its' feet and high in the ratings, is a toss up of curious sorts."**

I sat back down in my chair, "Are they really going to do this?"

Derik nodded, "Hey, if it makes money…"

Mac sighed, "So, why are you showing us this now, Boss?"

"Because, you two need to know what's headed our way; don't be surprised if Phantom has a much harder time keeping people form getting hurt."

Mac and I exchanged a glance, "That would mean bad news for Phantom if some kid decided that, a good video was worth more then his safety."

Mac nodded back to me, "Then guess who'd be left to take the blame?"

Well all nodded knowingly.

Derik's eyebrow quirked, "I wonder if Phantom would blame himself? I mean, he gets distracted when someone's in danger; but would he actually blame himself if someone got seriously hurt or killed?"

I stood up recalling the injuries Mac and I received, "Let's hope that's a question, we'll never get to answer." Mac and Derik nodded in union, "If that's it Sir, Mac and I need to get back to work."

"That is all Shell, be careful you two."

We exchanged goodbye's and resumed the work day with heavy mind's…

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><p>PHAN; I'm going to say it right now. I am SO glad I could figure that one out! I was only thinking for about two-minutes and BAM, I got it! I guess that somehow, though the TV I wound up with the Fenton's ability to create crazy names!<p>

He-he, on a calmer note: Shelly's turn is over. Next week, we get to team Phantom, in Danny's POV. Hopefully, I'll be able to start posting longer chapters, (these are a little short by my standards for a weeks work; but I wanted to end it soon anyway.)

R&R, or just, &R cause you've gotten the first one down already. ;)

See you Sunday!


	3. Sickness and Strength

-NOTICE- for the brevity's sake (and the fact that I fell ill, and pumped this out in two days,) a conversation that occurred previously to these events will be enlightened upon; but not directly written down.

I don't own DP. Thank you for your support! Now, onto the chapter!

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><p>Chapter 3: Sickness and Strength.<p>

(POV: of Danny Phantom.)

"Argh!" I shouted, dodging a barrage of ghost-rays, seriously rethinking the purpose of training sessions.

Yep, a training session with Dani in a little dimension called "nowhere," courtesy of Clockwork who'd been sending us there for a while. It's just a grassy green field of rolling hills and streams, beneath a sky that always shined fresh blue with no sun in sight. I believe I've mentioned before about training with Dani last summer? We've kept it up since, spending a few hours together on weekends, and weekdays now and again.

Shall I summarize our progress? Dani; despite not being abnormally powerful, hits _hard._ She has speed, and agility like me; but she has Mom's accuracy, frequency, and focus. Her greatest strength so far, is defense. I know this, mostly because I accidentally fired off the "boom of doom" at her, and she managed to successfully block it, (to even Clockworks amazement.)

My progress? Well, last summer is when I first discovered the above-mentioned power, (I try to avoid using the publicly-gifted name for it.) I improved in rapid-fire and power control due to necessity. Meaning that it took Dani a while to train seriously when I hadn't actually done anything to hurt her.

The rest of the story is for another day. All I knew, was that Dani's lack of seriousness was gone with the wind…

"Uncle!" I shouted, mentally cursing _my_ slow defense, and shield generation. We'd been taking turns on defense, and offense, and then just plain brawling. Obviously, it was my turn to take the position of the first-mentioned.

"We're cousins, Silly!" Dani replied back, ignoring the purpose of my cry.

I toppled over, and landed face-first into the grassy hillside. Dani landed a finger-blast to my butt, before she joined me on the grass.

She sighed loudly, snuggling into my back, "I win!" She shouted.

I rolled over, effectively pushing her off of me, "Yeah, you win one out of three."

She pouted; but didn't protest further.

"Say," Dani began casually, "who were those "masters" Clockwork was going on about earlier?"

I thought for a second, recalling this morning's conversation, "Some foreign ghosts. Or I guess they _would have been_ foreign to us, whenever it was they were alive. Their names sounded…well, I can't put an origin on them."

Dani shrugged, "But; why would we need anyone like that, anyway?"

"Clockwork mentioned something about furthering our skills…they're probably some kind of martial arts masters from a while ago."

Dani pouted at me again, "That still doesn't answer my question…"

I rolled my eyes, "Think of Valerie, and Mom. They're both what, 9th degree black belts?" Dani gave me a blank look, clearly not understanding the painful difference between a trained fighter (Val, and Mom) and an untrained fighter, (everyone else.)

Frowning, I failed to find a way to explain, "Look, I trust Clockwork, and if he wants me to train under some guy I know nothing about, because he knows it'll be good for me, then I'll go with it."

Dani nodded in understanding. Don't get her wrong, she and Clockwork have always been on good terms, she'd just never had everything she could ever lose saved by the guy. Dani laid down next to me. I closed my eyes, and attempted a nap. My stomach had been bothering me that entire week, and I was worried about a new pain in my chest. I'd been considering, going to the Far-Frozen to see a doctor.

That's right, ever since the doctors there first treated me, I've been receiving all my regular checkups and medical needs there. I can worry a lot less since they know my hybrid status, and can adapt to treat me as a ghost, and as a human.

Dani prodded my chest; I proceeded to groan about, "five more minutes" and, "training can wait."

I could feel her staring at me, "Danny," she began, "are you feeling well?"

My head shot up quickly, alarmed that she'd noticed my discomfort, "Uh, well I am feeling a little queasy. Why?"

She looked at me oddly; I momentarily felt her ghost-sense prodding at me. I shifted, "Hey, you promised you wouldn't use that on me!"

Dani rolled her eyes, "I'm just trying to make sure nothing's seriously wrong."

Making a distinct 'humph' noise, I relaxed, and let down my mental shields that previously prevented her from examining me.

Dani had been spending time in the Far-Frozen ever since Frostbite gave her a room there. Of course, Frostbite trained her to expand her senses much like I could, except while mine was like submarine radar; Dani's was more like an Aura sense. Living or ghost, if you had a problem, Dani could snuff it out (this made her quite the popular assistant at the Far-Frozen's medical facilities.)

I tensed at what I would call an 'invasion of privacy;' but she only took a few seconds.

The resounding pause frightened me a little, "How long do I have, Doc?" I said, half mockingly.

Her serious stare didn't go away, "Danny, I think you need to go see Dr. Verglas. I don't know what to make of it; but your Cold-Core is acting up for some reason that has to do with this weird energy in your stomach, and throat."

I stood up, surprised that she'd figured out that much, "I will."

Dani stood up with me and together, we reached for Clockwork's amulets and removed them from our necks. Instantly, we were removed from "nowhere" and replaced back into Clockwork's tower.

The ghost himself was floating in front of his time-portals. I don't actually know what their technical name is. All I know it that they show time, and can be used as portals. Once again, I prove that even a Fenton; can come up with a creative and totally-not-obvious names…don't I wish.

Normally, Dani and I would've said a quick and polite goodbye, before heading out. This time though, Dani dragged me towards Clockwork by my wrist.

"What are you doing?" I whispered to her, feeling like an idiot for acting secretive around the all-knowing ghost.

Dani looked at me defiantly, "Ask Clockwork about these "master's" he mentioned this morning."

I blinked at her, "You do it; I don't care as long as these "masters" aren't Vlad."

Thus, came the pleading-threatening-angry-defiant glare; how she always pulls that one off, I'll never know.

I gave in, "Fine; but you owe me one." Dani nodded 'yes' as I turned to Clockwork, "Sir?" Clockwork turned to me, recognizing the title's actual meaning, 'I want something; can you help me?'

"Yes, Danny?" Clockwork replied calmly.

I paused, "Should I bother? You already know what I'm going to ask."

Clockwork nodded with a faint smile, "Do not think too much of these teachers for the time being. They will not introduce themselves for a short while, for now, simply maintain your training with Dani." I bowed my head slightly in acknowledgement, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have matters to deal with."

Dani and I said a hasty goodbye, before leaving. Like every sentient being, Clockwork also had certain speech patterns.

'Matters to attend to,' always meant pleasant business as usual. "Matters to deal with," meant the Observants were complaining about something trivial, and were otherwise bugging Clockwork.

The conversation didn't distract Dani, however. No, she stayed focused and intent on getting me to see Dr. Verglas of the Far-Frozen.

* * *

><p>Using quickly regenerating energy, Dani and I raced from Clockwork's tower to Frostbite's ice castle…where we engaged in a heated argument on whom actually <em>won <em>the race.

After that was settled (I gave in,) we greeted Frostbite and asked if Dr. Verglas was available. Frostbite told us "yes" after we escaped his crushing bear hugs, and chatted for a while.

Dani went ahead to tell Dr. Verglas what she'd discovered. When I finally got in to see the aging white-yeti, he was looking at me thoughtfully.

When I laid on the cold-steel table, and allowed him to run various scans and tests on me, his face changed. Growing more and more concerned, the happy Dr. began showing his ancient age more and more…Dani stood by me, looking over the results for her own eyes. She looked quite baffled, and confused.

'_Well,'_ I thought to myself, _'This can't be good.'_

I sat up, "Is everything alright?"

Dr. Verglas nodded, motioning Dani and me to an ice bench, he looked thoughtfully as he kneeled in front of us. Removing his glasses, he looked at us gently, "Nothing of great concern, Danny." I smiled at him, as one of the greatest doctors and most ancient residents of the Far-Frozen, Verglas held a high respect and rank. His age and wisdom made him feel comfortable calling me by my name.

Reaching for some printed charts, Verglas continued, "It seems to be an advancement in your powers. Namely, a new core has flared to life."

Dani quirked an eyebrow, "But doesn't Danny already have a core?"

Verglas nodded, "That he does, as do you. However," he said, gesturing to us, "from what I have gathered; hybrids have a structural density far beyond any complete-ghost." I gave him a sorry glance, "By that I mean, a ghost like I, who has a much less dense structure, could only contain one core safely. Your powers can expand limitlessly, and will do so since your body is equipped to handle it. Thus, new developing cores."

I looked up sharply, "Cores?" As in, more the one new core?"

Dr. Verglas nodded, "I thought you were aware. Months ago a wind core, centered in your throat and upper chest, developed at a rapid rate. I believe this may explain some of your more destructive tactics."

Dani looked at me, "The Ghostly-Wail?"

"For starters," I replied, turning back to Verglas, "how does that explain my stomach?"

"Well normally," Dr. Verglas began, "ghosts are limited to one central core, if they even have a core at all. Amazingly though, hybrids are apparently able to sustain many more, you yourself Danny having three now. From what I partake of the placement of the core in your abdominal area, it would be a fire-core."

Dani looked at me excitedly, "Cool!"

I shoved her playfully; Verglas looked a little confused as to how a 'fire-core' could be "cool," but he moved on anyway.

"This isn't something to be taken lightly, children. Heat rises, even in the confinements of Danny's body. Directly above your fire-core Danny, is your cold-core; which is the most powerful, but also the most vulnerable of the four known cores to exist. Tell me, have you been feeling any chest pain?"

I nodded nervously, "Then it is confirmed. The two cores are adjusting to each other, while developing. Both trying to maintain themselves, while not destroying you from the inside out."

I visibly paled, "So, I'm dying?"

Verglas blinked, "Ancients, no! You may feel sick, you may have fluctuations in power; but nothing that will kill you."

I let out a breath; Dani rubbed my back comfortingly. As Verglas continued, Dani and I were at full attention, "There is one matter, of which I would like to warn you of. Just as your when cold-core left its infancy, and caused you to feel ill, and your ghostly-form to freeze up. Your fire-core will most likely run you up a high fever, and possibly cause your cold-core irritation, resulting in chest pains. At it's peak, it may leave you exhausted, so I suggest that you keep Dani close at hands if that should be the case."

Dani and I nodded, thanked him, and exchanged goodbyes with the good Doctor.

Flying through the Zone, we chatted a bit about it; Dani thought there was nothing to worry about, I was understandably not as convinced…

We relayed the information to team Phantom: Jazz seamed worried, Sam cautioned me, and Tuck gave me a high-five. All and all, the day had been pretty eventful; the night was spent patrolling with Dani, (something we both liked doing together.) I managed to get some sleep too. The next few days were fairly normal save for my increasing discomfort.

Now if only the weather hadn't taken such a quick turn for the worst…

* * *

><p>Author's notes! (Probably important.)<p>

QUESTION! 'Dani' is spelt with an 'I' I know; but I'm still confused...Is it Danni, or Dani? My computer wants to spell it with only one 'N' and a baby name-site I searched on said it goes both ways. A lot of DP fan-sites have her name with only one N too...So far I just think the one N, is easy on the eyes. If I'm wrong, let me know.

NOTES. I'm expanding a lot on little hints in DP, here are some.

-Recalling the show: the second time Dani appeared and fought a duplicate-Vlad, she showed some SERIOUS rapid fire. Danny on the other hand throughout the series, always looked like he struggled with shields

-ABOUT CORES. When I thought about it, there seemed to be three cores in DP: Cold/ice, wind, and electricity. Think about Vlad; he can create a tornado (wind-core: I've located in the throat) and he can electrocute Danny with a slight touch (electric-core: I've located in the skull.) Then the Cold/ice core; which Butch placed in the chest.

It only seemed logical that there'd be a fire-core located in the stomach.

See you Sunday! Next week, we get Fruitloop for breakfast. ;)


	4. Courage and Cowards

I'm going to keep spelling Dani with only one 'N.' It makes Danny, and Dani seem too much alike when you spell their names almost the same way.

I don't own DP! Thank you for your support!

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Courage and Cowards.<p>

(POV: of Vlad Masters/Plasmius.)

I entered my mansion briskly. I had finally found the courage to make my decisions…as much as I hated my options.

Quickly strutting down to my portrait, I transformed into my ghostly-form and entered the Ghost Zone through my hidden portal. My first destination was a jungle island set in the far reaches of the Ghost Zone.

Flying at a moderate pace, I shut out my thoughts. I was waging estimates of Danny's full battle strength, against his ability to come out of the oncoming brawl alive. Of course, I had no intention of fighting the boy ever again; I had silently sworn to myself, that I would never cross fists with Daniel again.

Daniel, had become so strong…stronger then I, with _twenty-years_ of experience under my belt, and he less then _two._ Risking my skill and diversity, against his brute strength was foolish…

Not to mention a _small_ detail I neglected to let the boy become aware of. I'll admit that, Daniel is more powerful. While I, am more skilled; but…Danny (In _less_ then two years!) has gained a hundred-times more combat experience then I have in my twenty...

I'd been analyzing our past encounters more closely, (as well as my other conflicts) and I realized just how easily an opponent could overwhelm me. Daniel, on a completely different note, always remained steadfast even when death seamed imminent. Always fighting, never giving in…

I needed to know exactly what the boy was capable of. I needed to unleash something bigger then he could normally handle, and I needed to either find his limits…

Or break them.

My flight came to an end sooner then I'd anticipated. Taking a deep breath, slowly realizing just how suicidal my actions were; compared to randomly showing up in Daniels home, and ticking him off…

Breathing deeply once more, I reminded myself just how much I could gain from this, as I took two steps into the jungle.

Almost instantly, my ghost-sense burst from my mouth, I gasped and reflexively covered my jaw. I soon began trembling violently. God almighty, was I really such a coward?

My feet were pulled out from underneath me, as I felt coils binding me. They lifted me up into the air, and moved me deeper into the jungle. I suppressed the urged to scream; there was no sense in loosing complete control of my composure.

My bindings ceased moving, and my ghost-sense went off once more.

I heard rustling and a loud roar, "Well, well, well. What do we have hear? Hmm? The elder half-breed?"

Quietly I gulped, and opened my eyes to look into the glowing orbs of Undergrowth's. "Um, Hello. I terribly hope that I haven't interrupted anything?"

Undergrowth laughed with harsh mirth, "NO, as a matter of fact, you have not. So tell me; what business brings you to MY jungle?"

I trembled at the smirk on his face, briefly wondering if my select core powers could save me, should I need to escape.

Placing my best conference-room expression and voice on, I spoke to Undergrowth, "I have a proposition for you." His thorny-eyebrows raised, "Tell me; are you familiar with the younger half-breed, Danny Phantom?"

Undergrowth visibly tensed, and squinted at me, "Yes, I DO know of him! And what of it?" He leaned closer into me.

"How would you like to enact a little revenge?"

…

_Yes, yes, YES!_ I chanted within the confinements of my head. Undergrowth had agreed and was waiting for my call, all the time preparing for his revenge.

I pondered during to flight to my next destination. I had absolutely no idea how Daniel had originally defeated undergrowth. Apparently, he had been so thorough and unbeatable; Undergrowth hadn't even bothered to attack since. He'd confided in me, that he hadn't laid a scratch on the boy at that encounter; but he intended to bring as much harm as possible given the chance.

On another matter, the odds of Daniel's friends staying out of the way were slim. If possible, I planed to make sure that at least Daniel's sister would be out of the way. A helpless girl like her was never meant for battle, and was certainly nothing like her strong Mother. Valerie would be a problem as well, and I'd had suspicions of Dani's return to Amity Park.

Slowing down and turning invisible, I flew carefully into the Observants prison-keep. Passing the first-level prisoners, the second, and then the third; I arrived at the High Security Solitary confinement.

I bit back a chuckle, and settled for a smile. The Observants were a just jury; but they couldn't maintain security well enough to fence in a lame sheep. It was my luck, however. It had always been my luck when dealing with this ghost.

Transforming back into my human form, I stepped through the thick walls and walked over to the control panel.

Carefully, I selected the proper buttons for lights, and an ectoplasmic shock to awaken the ghost. The slight yelping from the prisoner was replaced by dead silence. Apparently, he'd seem me.

"It's been a while, Vortex. I have a proposition for you…"

After some convincing, he agreed. Then, I rigged Vortex's prison to fail, and returned to Amity Park to tie some loose ends…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny Fenton.)<p>

Jazz handed me a large bowl in case I had another 'episode.' Apparently, while my cold-core had given me well, a cold. The fire-core had given me the flu, and a fever.

Dani phased into the room, flinching at the temperature, "Care to open up a window?"

Jazz shrugged, "At this point, I don't know if we should keep him warm, or stick him in the freezer to defrost the lasagna."

"Ha, ha. Very funny Jazz," I said hoarsely.

Dani transformed and stood by me, "Seriously Danny, are you sure you're okay?"

I sighed, taking the chance to look at Dani. She'd grown up quite at bit for only third-teen. She'd ditched the shorts, for red floor-length cargo-pants. She still wore pale blue sneakers, and a jacket in the same color; but these days she often wore it open, showing her white tank-top underneath. I smiled; Dani still wore the exact same red wool cap. She really loved that thing.

Finally, brought back down to earth, I answered her question with a look.

She flinched, "Sorry, standard question."

Jazz took my temperature for the millionth time that day, "99.8 Degrees, Danny. That's awfully high for you."

It was true, since my cold-core was centered in my chest; my human form took the affects in the form of a cold heart. This caused me an overall body temperature of just under eighty degrees, and below seventy around my chest area.

Considering, that the average human has a fever when the body temperature rises about four degrees; a ten-degree fever is just about as horrible as it sounds…

I mumbled something incoherent, shifting uncomfortably as Dani probed me with her ghost sense.

"I thought I told you no do that," I groaned out.

Dani ignored my comment/question..

"It's a mess," Dani said, "Everything's acting up at once."

Jazz's brow furrowed, "Meaning?"

Dani roller her eyes, "His fire-core is expanding and heating up; while his cold-core is…trembling under the sudden pressure." She gave me a sympathetic look, "I don't think we should keep him warm. The problem is how rapidly Danny's fire-core is growing, not how weak and unstable it is."

The girls removed most of my blankets, and opened the windows. I groaned, "Dani, have there been any attacks?"

She shook her head 'no.' "Nothing you need to worry about. Just Boxy, and he was too confused about me to even pay attention." She laughed, "Apparently, I wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting. I don't even think half the ghosts know about me yet."

I dug my head into my pillow, thankful for that. Dani's existence managed to stay a pretty well kept secret; but I had a feeling that it wouldn't last much longer…

Jazz stood up, and stroked my head, "Would you like some soup, Danny?"

I wasn't hungry, but I nodded anyway, knowing that she wouldn't let me be until I ate something.

"Soup's fine…"

"Okay, Danny. I'll be right back." She left for the kitchen.

There was silence for a moment, before Dani spoke up, "Danny?"

I groaned, wanting nothing more then to sleep, "You know? If you keep talking to yourself, people will think you're crazy…"

Dani laughed, "Funny, you know who I was talking to." She leaned down next to me, "I actually wanted to ask you something um, important."

She had my attention, "Okay, one question, then I get to sleep."

She nodded, "How do I protect everyone? You know, from getting hurt? I don't think I can…"

Sighing, I propped myself up on my elbow, "What to you mean by that? As if you couldn't protect everyone. You've got the best defense I've ever seen; even the Observants don't have a ghost on record as good as you."

She frowned at me, "Yeah, but that's just in training. I've always fought for myself, or with you. I've never protected anybody…"

I snorted, "You'll get the hang of it. You've got Sam and Tucker to help you out, and I'm sure that if you personally asked her, Valerie would help you fight a ghost."

She perked up a little bit, "Do Phantom and Red have a running truce?"

I snickered, "More like a light switch; the truce is turned on and off. It's on, If you or Vlad is involved pretty much." I laid back down, "Maybe you should go see Red, she's protective of you too. I wouldn't be surprised if she's always wished she could have a little sister."

Dani frowned for a minute, "I don't really know that much about her."

"Neither do I, really." I sighed and closed my eyes, "Really, though. You should go see her; I don't mind if she knows Phantom's out of action for a while, but she needs to know you're back in town."

"You really think she'll help me?" Dani didn't sound doubtful.

"Are you kidding? Girls have an innate ability to gang up on anything that ticks them off. Sure she'll help you out, you need the girl time anyway. I can't solve all of your emotional problems."

Dani poked me for my tone, giggling slightly, "Thanks Danny; get well soon!"

And with that, she transformed and left me to some peace and quiet.

"DANNY, soups on." Jazz said happily, as she entered my room.

"Darn it," I said into my pillow…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Dani Phantom.)<p>

What my cousin had said really encouraged me. I was really excited to see Valerie again. Maybe Danny was right, Sam and Jazz are awesome; but Valerie and I just connected more as friends. We've both had our share of hard times, and ghost fights.

I flew into the more troubled part of town. In my travels, I'd learned to spot the differences, but I didn't let them bother me anymore. I'd lived in far worse conditions on my own, and much farther away from home. Or, I guess Amity Park's my home; that's where all my friends and family are, and that's where I return to when I want a nice place to crash.

Smiling, I made sure I was still invisible and phased into an old abandoned building to transform. Prying the door open, I left and rounded the corner to Valerie's apartment building.

I paused in front of the entrance. I'd never actually been in Valerie's home before; I wondered how well she was fairing in this part of town. Checking with the oblivious teen guarding the front desk, I got Valerie's apartment number. Following her directions, I soon came to her doorstep.

I knocked, and waited for an answer that never came. Curious, I looked up and down the hallway for witnesses. Knowing all was clear; I expanded my aura-sense (At least, that's what I've started calling it,) into the apartment.

Nothing, taking another precautionary look up and down the hallway, I phased though the door. Not the best idea to intrude on a ghost hunter's home; but I assumed that Valerie wouldn't be home for a while.

There was nothing spiffy about the apartment, but Val and her Dad had done well to fix it up. The apartment was worn out and old, but otherwise the place wasn't dirty or wrecked. Meandering around, I came to Valerie's room and peeked though the barely open door.

I stood up, and walked away; that was going to far, I needed to wait, and hope that Damien didn't come home before his daughter did.

But before I could find a place to settle down, I heard a scuffle coming from Valerie's room. My first reaction was that a burglar was trying to break into the apartment. Then I realized that I was on the eighth floor.

There were some more noises before I finally spoke up, "Um, Valerie? Is that you?"

The sounds ceased immediately, and Valerie's bedroom door swung open.

Valerie's head popped out, she looked at me, then smiled, "And I thought my ears were playing tricks on me."

I smiled back at her, as she walked up to me and gave me a hug. Her face turned concerned, "Is something wrong? Why have you come back?"

I laughed and hugged her back, "You sound like my cousin! Nothing's wrong yet, I just need to talk to you about a few things."

Valerie smiled, adjusting her street clothes, "I'm glad. Want to grab a soda from the fridge then?"

"Sounds good to me."

We entered the kitchen, grabbed our sodas, and sat down on the floor at the living room coffee table.

"So, what'd you need to tell me? Dad won't be home for a while, we've got plenty of time."

I sighed, Valerie's faced turned to worry; I probably looked a little stressed myself.

"Well, I wanted to let you know about a few things." I paused.

"Go on, whatever it is I can handle it." Valerie gave me a reassuring look. I admired how pretty she looked with her hair down.

"Danny, my cousin, is sick."

Valerie paused, "Can I get a little more then that?"

I blinked, "Right. Well, Danny's going through some stuff that's made him too ill to fight. So, he called me to come back to protect the city from ghosts." I tried to read her expression; "He wanted me to let you know, because he's worried that I can't handle it by myself."

Valerie smiled, "So, the big bad, Danny Phantom is calling on two girls for help?"

I laughed, "He doesn't care about that stuff, and he just wants you to know that I'll be around to fight, but he won't."

"Got it," Valerie assured, "but what about Phantom? How sick is he?"

I shrugged, "We don't know how long it'll last. It won't destroy him, don't get any thoughts."

Valerie seemed caught up by something, "We?"

I froze, _crud._ Stuttering to come up with an answer, my ghost sense went of, and Valerie's wristband started flashing.

I transformed, "Care to start working together, beginning now?"

Valerie's suit flashed on in the blink of an eye, "Sounds good to me."

Tapping into my Aura sense, I searched for the location, and identity of the invading ghost.

I gasped, "Valerie! Outside!" I grabbed her by her wrist phased us through the wall and into the sky.

Valerie's jet-board whirled to life, and supported her mid-air, "Show yourself ghost!"

"Well, if you insist."

I hissed, "_Plasmius." _Something I'd learned from Danny: Vlad's name could be spat out like a curse, and I intended to use it that way.

"Masters," Valerie said.

I stared at her; Vlad did the same, "How…" He asked, dumbfounded.

Valerie smirked beneath her red-tinted face mask, "Next time you decide to go Vegas-light-show, on yourself. Make sure that no one's around to witness…"

Vlad tried to cover up his worry, "If you know that, then why would you raise your weapon against me? A citizen of Amity Park?"

She huffed in response, "Why would you have me attack her? Why would you lie to me, and use me?" Vlad frowned at us, "Your decency as a human being was destroyed when you tried to have me, get Dani killed." Valerie smiled, visibly relaxing as if a huge weight had just been lifted off of her back. Heck, I'd be happy too, if I'd pulled a burn like that on Ol' Vlady.

Speak of the devil, his expression turned to acceptance; I knew what that meant. Vlad had one more move, and 'nice guy Vlad' couldn't make it.

"Then it's settled."

Plasmius attacked…

* * *

><p>I'm mean, aren't I?<p>

Well, I'm glad I finally put Valerie into the mix! This chapter is a monster, it made like 2,700 words; mostly talk, but I promise that the next chapter will _not_ be void of action.

NOTES!

-Vlad's a trembling coward, as far as I'm concerned. He couldn't face Vortex, he couldn't face Pariah, and yet he seemed to have no problems shoving Danny into mix against those ghosts. Clever words can't cover up actions forever.

-Danny does seem to call Vlad "Plasmius," as if the name were a curse, right? Try spitting the name out like you would an insult; it's not hard.

Well, this entire sequel wasn't planned out and somehow It's progressing perfectly from the last book. I keep creating unplanned connections, and I don't know why or how. Maybe I just leave plenty of room to write? I think I might be building up to something; but for the life of me, I haven't thought of what it is yet…

Well, thanks for joining me! A LOT of fighting is coming up in the next few chapters…maybe a bit of Mac and Shelly too.

See you Sunday!


	5. Brawl's On

NOTE! While Valerie is suited up, team Phantom strictly refers to her as 'Red' so they don't fly around screaming 'Valerie!' at the nameless huntress.

Watch out for the POV changes! I don't own DP.

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Brawl's On.<p>

(POV: of Dani Phantom.)

Plasmius attacked.

Red and I scattered like flies, we circled Vlad and tried to cooperate. She and I had never really fought together before, so we had to improvise.

I guess since she'd fought alongside my cousin a few times, she'd expected our styles to have been the same. She couldn't have been more wrong.

Danny and I might tend to charge into battle recklessly, but my style is much more like hers actually. Except, (as I could've guessed) my defense is much stronger.

Red fired off first, using a small ecto-gun. Vlad dodged it easily, and mocked Her. I gritted my teeth. Red and I were to Vlad's left, and right flanks; which didn't make formulating a plan any easier.

Plasmius fell silent, stared back and forth between us, and occasionally smirked. That lasted about fifteen seconds, the only audible sound was Red's jet-sled.

_Do something, _I thought to myself, _what are you stalling for?_ I paled, _what ARE you stalling for?_

My hands sparked with green energy, "What do you want, _Plasmius?"_

Vlad hadn't spared me a glance, he was much more preoccupied with Red, "Really Dani?" He said without facing me, "Must you copy Daniel's terribly disrespectful tone?"

I huffed, "Don't change the subject. What do you want?"

Vlad spared me a glance, and then Red fired off a few rounds at him. He dodged, and flew higher above us, the move dared us to follow. We complied, and chased the Fruitloop until we lost visual of him, and each other.

I reached out with my aura sense, and found Red amongst the clouds. I flew to her, "Red, he's seriously up to something. I think he's stalling, for something. Should we just pulverize him?"

Red pondered for a second, and checked to make sure her oxygen level was maintained at that altitude. "Stalling? What would Vlad have anything to stall for?"

I blinked a few times, then shrugged. It wasn't like Vlad to just show up and fight; there had to have been something behind it.

Red shifted on her jet-board, suddenly fully aware, "Does Plasmius know about what's going on with your cousin?"

I visibly paled, "He couldn't, could he?"

Lightning flashed, and my ghost sense when off. Red screamed, and pulled me out of the clouds.

She released me, "Get to the ground! Go ahead of me."

I spun around, "Like HECK I will!" I grabbed her arm and turned her intangible as several lightning bolts blasted around us.

Red deactivated her jet-board and plummeted to the ground with me. It only took seconds for us to reach the streets, where people were trying to get away from the terrible elements.

We could hear the distinct un-sheathing of a sword. My ghost sense went off again as red and I spun around.

It was the Fright Knight; Plasmius stood by his side.

Fright Knight pointed his sword directly at us, "Surrender, maidens, or face the internal tortures of my blade!"

Red and I spoke together, "Like HECK we will!"

The battle began, with no sings of being quick and painless. Plasmius disappeared once again…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny FentonPhantom.)

I ate my soup after I'd convinced Jazz that nope, I didn't need to be rocked to sleep…I love my sister but hey, I'm a guy; I need my space. How would something like that even occur to her anyway?

My body had begun shake, my stomach grumbled and my chest stung. I dry-heaved in my bed, and hated the simultaneous feeling of being punched in the chest. Luckily, it seemed to only be another episode. The pain was halved in a minute, but after that I couldn't sleep. Instead, I catnapped for a few minutes. The problem started when my ghost sense went off.

Groaning like a sleeping giant, I tried to reach into my ghost sense; only to hit a wall created by my cold-core's apparent crankiness…I pulled out, and faced another 'episode.'

I can't remember being that sick ever! Wiping my mouth, I attempted to call for Jazz. I needed to know if it was Boxy, or else I needed to act fast.

Unfortunately, I got my answer soon enough. I stood up from by bed and stared at my window. The neighbor's old oak tree branches were tapping against the glass. I frowned at the annoying noise, and tried to think.

There was no way any normal amount of wind could force the steady oak's branches several feet to tap my window…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Jazz Fenton.)<p>

I dug deeper through the cupboards, since I'd had no luck finding anymore can's of soup. Sighing loudly, I grabbed my keys and headed for the front door. I planned to make a quick errand to the super market to grab some soup, (and some fudge since Mom had it on her 'to do' list anyway.)

The weather had seemed nice that morning, but it was taking a turn for the worst. I grabbed my coat, and slipped out quietly. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up Danny.

I'd left my convertible's top down, so I had to struggle against the wind to put it back up again. Finally, with that mess solved I headed for the store, and tried to ignore the wet mess my hair had turned into.

Thankfully, it wasn't a long drive. I entered the store, grabbed the items I was after, and headed for the checkout line. I double-checked my wallet for cash, and waited for my turn.

There was a lot of talk about the weather, "I thought Lance Thunder's prediction, was sunny?" The customer in front of me asked the cashier lady.

"Yeah, everyone else said so, too. I can't imagine how weather like this could come around this time of year. It's really odd."

I pinched my lips and though about that for a second. I knew weather couldn't be easy to forecast, but surely not everyone got it wrong…silently I felt a little concerned. I placed my items on the conveyer belt hastily. An odd feeling in my gut told me to get Danny somewhere even safer then home.

I paid, and grabbed my purchases, fully intent on getting home ASAP, when I stopped for a moment to sniff the air.

People looked at me as if I was insane, but I could swear that I smelt…pollen? Nectar? A weary glance confirmed that I was nowhere near any plant life, so I moved on and ignored the strange sensation.

Then the ground started to shake.

Many of the people around me screamed and grabbed a hold on anything near them. Some even collapsed to the floor cradling their heads. I steadied myself by the doors and gaped.

The streets cracked and building shook, as roots and vines sprung out from seemingly nowhere. The lights in the store flickered on and off, until lightning flashed and left us in complete darkness.

The grey light that shone from the entrance doors slowly lessened, as vines encased all the exits. The store was in almost utter darkness, people screamed as if they were doomed. They weren't, just horribly trapped inside the convenience store.

Grabbing my key-chain's flashlight, I desperately tried to find a way out, and back to Danny.

Powerful ghosts were attacking Amity Park, and I didn't need a ghost-sense to know that…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Shelly Makamoto.)<p>

I rushed though the station, towards my on-camera desk. Another ghost attack, a BIG one was occurring. APGS (Amity Park's Ghost Station) was broadcasting like crazy; but an emergency broadcast via the TV was required as well.

The cameraman gave me the countdown signal, while I briefly wondered what persona would be best.

Before I could decide, I ran out of time, "Hello, this is Shelly Makamoto speaking, and this is a Ghost Watch emergency broadcast." I read off of the teleprompter carefully, "Five powerful ghosts have appeared in Amity Park during the last fifteen minutes. The ghosts have been I.D'd, and no casualties have been reported thus far."

I paled as I read further, "A Plant controlling ghost registering at 5.9: a Weather controlling ghost registering at 7.1: an unidentified ghost at 4.5 _(fright knight:) _another unidentified ghost at 6.8 _(Dani:)_ and finally, the Wisconsin Ghost, at a mid-level of 4.8."

The cold heartless glare of the camera lens, couldn't compare with my hopeless gaze, "We are in a state on the up-most emergency. Stay within the confinements of your homes until further notice. Danny Phantom has yet to be detected after," I swallowed, "eighteen minutes since the first ghost's arrival."

With the camera cut off, I swayed in my chair. _Eighteen _minutes…Phantom always showed up to fight within ten; fifteen at the most.

It had begun to look hopeless for us at the station. The entire building had been almost completely covered in vines, and we had no connection to the outside world other then a few station satellites. We weren't even sure if that broadcast had gotten though, but they put it on loop anyway…I nearly cried. What about the kids in school? The citizens who were just trying to go about their daily lives?

Silently as one, the entire station prayed to whatever being that would listen.

_PLEASE, let Phantom come…_

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny FentonPhantom.)

I sneaked out of my room, and made a halfhearted attempt to get down the stairs. My parents were in the lab working, that's why they gave Jazz the day off from school. She was allowed to stay home to care for me, but I didn't know where she was at the time.

The wind was so terrible outside I could hardly believe it. After some looking, I finally managed to find the TV remote. Oddly enough though, my parents rushed up from the lab and turned on the news.

They didn't say anything; which was strange for my Dad. I followed suit though anyway, weary of their odd expressions. I asked my Mom what was up, "We've lost transmission with the Fenton Satellite," she said. Dad turned the channel to 4, so we could watch as Shelly Makamoto made her announcement.

We were…shocked to say the least. In a hurry, my parents activated the ghost shield, and expanded it, all the time shouting various things. Then, they burst out of the house and sped away in the RV, Fenton style. Meaning: they took a flying leap into the RV, and drove off like maniacs.

Meanwhile, my ghost sense went off again. I tried to call my team, but Sam, Tuck, Jazz, and Dani didn't answer. I even considered calling Valerie, but dismissed the idea right away. As if Valerie _wouldn't _be out fighting ghosts at a time like that.

I opened the front door, and struggled against the vines for a moment. The state that Amity was in alarmed me. Plants covered the streets and buildings. Undergrowth's signature vines had grown over everything, and either sealed everyone out or trapped them in. While the ghost shield prevented them from growing any further, they had still done their job.

The ghost-shield also meant that I would have to walk to the brim of the shield, walk through the shield, so that I could transform safely outside the shield. Doesn't my life rock?

…

As I walked in the road, I pondered whether or not I should call out to anyone. My pain couldn't cover my worries as Amity Park's protector, any longer. I had to fight. I had no choice. Somewhere out there was Team Phantom, Val, and my parents. Their faces flashed in the back of my mind, encouraging me to do my job…

I'd known that using my cold-core wasn't an option, and I didn't know where to begin with my wind-core, (which is apparently, the power source of my ghostly wail.) Eventually, I realized that I never had a plan to begin with. What was the point in worrying myself half to death? It was only Plasmius, Undergrowth, Vortex, and two unknowns…

That sounded a lot easier before I thought about it.

I shook my head, _focus Fenton, there's no need to think about it, just find the ghosts and beat them._ My head cleared as I stepped though the ghost shield.

Left with no options, I braced myself and transformed. Phantom stood where Fenton had seconds earlier…okay, I admit. It wasn't as proud or as amazing as it usually was. The pain was terrible. It felt like a pot of magma was boiling over inside of me. My chest hurt like something I don't dare say.

The pain faded after a minute, or rather I just got used to it. I took the burden full force, jumped into the air, and fought against the hurricane-grade winds. I managed my way up through the skies, as I chanted Frostbite's mantra in my head…

_**I **__control the power. The power does __**not **__control me._

The ghostly source of the weather wasn't hard to find. Vortex usually created…a vortex in the center of the area he focused on the most. At that spot, winds wouldn't blow so hard, and the rain wouldn't be so bad. I figured it was the best place to fight in my state.

I had no time to give myself a pep talk, so I just charged through the shell of Vortex's hub without thinking. How was I supposed to know I was expected?

Vortex slammed me in the back, hard enough to hurl me to the other side of his hub. It really freaked me out. Vortex was never one for direct attacks, he always seemed to prefer to blast me from a distance.

I flipped around, which caused a wave of dizziness to bombard my head.

Vortex noticed, "What do we have here?" He gasped in harshly, "Has the great Danny Phantom, lost his edge?"

"You wish, you overgrown hairdryer!" I charged at him, and blazed my fists with all my might.

I fired off weak blasts as rapidly as I could. Vortex couldn't be fooled, "What's the matter runt?" He gasped, "Too weak to face the mighty vortex, hmm? Where's your usual pride? Have you lost your potential?"

I put more energy into it, "What're you doing here, Vortex? Why've you teamed up with Undergrowth?"

Vortex gasped, and knocked me back with a gust of air, "My weather control complements the conditions required for his plants to flourish. Puny droplets like you won't stand a chance."

I hit the ground without a scream. I just couldn't find the strength to get over the pain. Speaking of pain, my stomach was _killing_ me, and my chest throbbed like a heartbeat. My cold-core was literally trying to freeze me from the chest up.

I added back pain, to my list. I managed to open my eyes, and survey the area around me. The closest building was quite a ways away, so I figured I was in Jackson Park. The place was hardly recognizable with Undergrowth's affect.

Speaking of which, the ground shook underneath me, and took away my last ability to stand. I fell…on my butt, okay? Undergrowth popped from the ground and loomed over me. Lightning flashed and rain pattered on him menacingly.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little half-breed, Danny Phantom."

I muttered an, "Oh crud," before Vortex flew directly above me, and sent waves of electricity through my body. It felt like the Fenton Portal all over again…

When it finally stopped, I groaned and tried to kick my way out of Undergrowth's vines as they encased me. They squeezed so tight that I couldn't cry out, I couldn't transform, and no one was there to save me…

I strained as the vines lit up with Vortex's electricity. At the same time, Undergrowth's hold prevented me from twitching freely. Restrained and fried like that, my muscles tore themselves apart.

Images flashed by in my head. Faces and memories, almost instantly, until a significant one seemed to flow by slowly…

"_Now then, concentrate. Let the energy build until it had nowhere to go, but out…"  
><em>

_Frostbite, _I thought to myself, _I'm gonna to make you proud!_

I clenched my teeth, and forced the pain back, I made the energy build up in both cores as they tried to look for a way out. It almost felt peaceful for a moment. The calm, before my own little storm…

The sensation was exactly like when my cold-core first released. A relaxing feeling, followed by stability, and one heck of a light show.

_POWER, _is what I felt. Like a cooped up horse set to pasture, I was going to _run. _And like a chained dog finally set free, I was going to _hunt__._

The explosion of fire blasted the vines apart, and freed me completely. My cold core soon followed sui, with it's own blast, effectively freezing all the plant-life for miles.

Undergrowth included…

The ghost was consumed in fire, and then frozen beyond belief. I felt abnormally aggressive, so I attacked his frozen form, and punched it into a million pieces. I knew he'd survive it though. The only way to stop Undergrowth completely was to suck him up in the thermos… That I'd left at home.

Worry briefly crossed my mind; but oddly enough, it passed just as quickly as it came.

I turned to Vortex, slowly. He just hovered in place and gaped at me. I thought for a moment, what made him stop like that? Again, that thought passed just as quickly as it came. Vortex was an enemy; that was all I could think about… His total strength was based on how much control he had. With my elemental cores flaring up, his strength was sufficiently weakened.

I smirked at his submissive position, "What's the matter _runt?_ Too weak to face the mighty Phantom, hmm? Where's your usual pride?"

Vortex looked me in the eyes, and tried to read my play on his words.

His courage doubled, "Don't think too much of your self, whelp!" His body split into two forms: one red and the other blue. "_**I**_ control the elements!"

"We'll see," I mumbled as he struck at me.

Vortex switched between heat-based, and cold-based attacks. Neither had any effect on me. Soon, he abandoned his attempts and tried to fly away, but I wasn't about to let that happen.

I caught up to him, and blasted him to the ground with a massive fireball. He stayed there for a moment and glared at me, before he got up to face me again.

"How DARE YOU!"

I smirked, what was so intimidating about me?

"How dare I?" I stared at him, "How dare YOU attack my home, team up with Plasmius, HURT MY FRIENDS!"

I gritted my teeth and glared daggers at Vortex, "For the last time; GET OUT OF MY TOWN!"

_**THROMM!**_

An inferno of fire burst from my mouth…Vortex, was defeated.

I stopped and huffed. That was fairly easy. I turned back to Undergrowth's frozen remains. I knew that he would spring up at some point, and then I'd have to track him down and trap him in the thermos. Meanwhile, I wanted to find the others, and clean up…

I turned towards Casper high, when a wave of pain in my stomach forced me to double over and fall to the ground.

The vines around me burst into flames, and my body's aura lit up like a candle. I screamed, scared for my life, and no longer afraid to show it.

Hopelessness and pain consumed my state of mind…I only hoped that the flames wouldn't hurt anyone else.

My eyes watered, was I really dying by my own power? I shut my eyes. The heat-waves around me made me dizzy…then it all just stopped. The flames were stifled, as someone stood over me, confidently.

I tried to speak, but my throat was too dry. The figure, female, covered my eyes. I remembered nothing further…

* * *

><p>I'm a mean girl,<p>

I'm a mean girl,

How could I be so mean?

I have left you,

On a cliffy,

Guess I'll see you next week!

…

How's my angst? I think this counts; there doesn't have to be character death for it to be angst, right?

At least it's long! Unfortunately, that might mean more grammar errors, so don't be afraid to fill me in if you find some! It's really helpful, because after that I'm more vigilant and satisfied with my work. Now all that's left to do is close up the stray fights, and find out who this "person" is! Don't worry it's not an OC. That's your only hint, but I don't expect you to be able to guess "person's" I.D either!

EDIT! ^ Yeah, I hit that one spot on. Fixed this up a little bit. EDIT!

Finally. See you Sunday! More fights, and Fruitloops!


	6. Scared and Safe

As usual, there are a lot of POV changes so watch out! Glad to get this one out there, I had fun writing this chapter.

I don't own DP.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Scarred and Safe.<p>

(POV: of Vlad Masters.)

I flew towards my mansion home, in Ultra-Posh Polter-Heist. Oh yes, I'd gotten my answers. I could only hope that I could draw the correct conclusions.

That attack, just what _was_ that? I recalled Daniel's previous incident at the Amity Park mall, and wondered if they were one and the same. I mean, Daniel had spit fire from his mouth; how many ghosts can even _do_ that? Vortex controls heat, not fire. In the ghostly realm, heat and fire energy are different. Ecto-based heat energy, does not ignite, as ecto-based fire energy does. What Danny did, was…

But he'd lost control. His flames would have surely killed him, if it had not been for_ her…_

I'd arrived at my mansion, and gone down to my subterranean lab. That would be where I store my ghostly literature, among other things. I looked for a particular book, one which regarded the 'high ghosts' or (as they had commonly been called in recent years,) 'demigods of the ghost zone.'

As organized as I was, it still took me a few moments to find the book. When I did, I sat down at my desk and carefully turned the delicate pages. The writing was difficult to read, just barely visible to the human eye.

I looked up the table of contents, which separated the 'demigods' into four categories (according to their core element,) Fire-cored high ghosts; Pg 243. I sighed; the hard part was that I had to turn the pages one by one.

The pages of the old book flipped silently, as I began to sweat. _What if that really was a 'demigod?' What would she want with Daniel?_

I sighed loudly, she probably just wanted to stop the boy from destroying himself. My thoughts had entered a troubled phase, as I'd arrived on the designated page. Of course, as all old category books of the ghost zone were, male figures were listed and described before the females. It had not amounted to much though; fire-cores were a rare occurrence, since they commonly destroyed their carriers…

Like Daniels had almost destroyed him. That by far, had baffled me the most. Didn't the boy already have a cold-core? Now he had a _fire_-core, as well? My fingers froze on the page.

Daniel had always had a cold-core, now he had a fire-core. Fire-cores are known to destroy the form of whatever ghost they inhibit…and that would mean: no form to contain Daniel's cold-core.

I laid my head on the desk in front of me. Had that ghost not have shown up, Daniel's cold-core would have expanded in a blast. He could've sent the world into the next ice age, for cheese's sake!

I shook my head free of thoughts, and turned my attention back to the book in front of me. There were only two female 'demigods' of the fire type to account for. I read from the first paragraph of each candidate, and attempted to link her origin to a name.

The second one caught my eye, I read further on her history. _Well, what do you know? This might actually turn out to be quite interesting…_

As soon as I replaced the book on the shelf, I headed for my upstairs office. If a ghost like her had really come to Amity Park, then 'team Phantom' was going to have some very interesting endeavors…

I paused, team Phantom. I'd forgotten all about them…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Dani Phantom.)<p>

Red and I stood silently, "What the heck was that all about?" Red asked.

"I have no idea," I replied truthfully.

Let me summarize. Red and I had been fighting against the Fright Knight, when the wind picked up and lightning flashed more violently over the park. That had lasted for a minute or two before an intense light, which resembled a sunrise, followed it.

At that point, we all paused mid-battle to gaze. We weren't able see it directly, because of the buildings, but I knew for sure that it wasn't anything normal. Well, normal by my standards, that is.

I reached out with my aura sense, and looked for a signature. Danny? I thought, but that couldn't have been right. It didn't feel anything like him, and it was exactly like him at the same time. I ran a hand through my bangs; we didn't have any time for questions…

The Fright Knight was gone. I sighed, and face-palmed.

Red hovered up to my height, "It's just not our day, is it?"

"You can say that again," I frowned, "Come on. Whatever that was, it was bad enough to scare the Fright Knight away."

Red nodded, and took note of the name I called him. We'd taken off in the direction of the park, when my nerves acted up a little. It felt like there was something up ahead that I shouldn't mess with. I became more determined, I might've backed down before, but Danny put his trust in me. I wasn't going to let him down. Not for anything in the world.

We'd arrived at Jackson Park to find everything in a huge mess. The playground's jungle gym had become a real jungle. The picnic tables had been completely encased in plant life, and the pond was littered with moss.

Red commented on how strange it was that nothing had really been destroyed, just covered up. I'd taken that into serious thought as we flew over the park's main field.

There, Red and I froze in confusion at the sight before us. The vegetation had almost been completely incinerated for about a three hundred yard range. A few other spots had been burned beyond the normal power of fire, as well.

I gulped, and surveyed the field more carefully. Two figures stood out, "Red, over there!" We sped over, and landed behind the standing figure.

She turned around, and looked at us. I gasped, "Danny!" I tried to charge, but Red stopped me.

I gave the woman a dirty look. Danny was lying on the ground. He looked so pale and sick, more so then this morning, but this time was different. He did look much more relaxed on the ground.

Even so, I glared daggers at the woman who stood over him, "What did you do to him?"

She smirked at us; her voice carried a honeyed tone, "Well. Aloha, to you too."

* * *

><p>(POV: Jazz Fenton.)<p>

The skies had cleared up, and the vines had lost their supernatural strength, so I was easily able to use my Fenton-wrist-ray to blast them apart. I'd been doing that for half an hour, freeing countless people from buildings, and cars. People shook my hand, thanked me, and all that kind of stuff. I briefly wondered if Danny had ever gotten a lot of positive attention like that.

Finally, when I'd cleared the front exits of pretty much every building on that block, I got in my car, and drove towards Casper High. Even though the gang was probably okay, I knew how Danny would react if he learned that I hadn't checked on them.

As I drove to Casper, the RV sped by me in the direction of the school.

"This can't end well."

* * *

><p>(POV: Tucker Foley.)<p>

"SAM, wait!"

"Ai-YA!"

I protected my face, "You're CRAZY!"

Sam panted and smirked at me, "What?"

I stared at her, "What do you mean, "WHAT?" You just broke down the DOOR!"

Her smirk grew, "Does that surprise you?"

"No," I admitted. "But you're still crazy."

"Crazy, is staying in school during a ghost attack."

"Touché," I replied dodged my way out of the classroom. I gazed up and down the hallway, and wondered just how Undergrowth's vines had managed to cover all the doors, but not so much the walls or floors. They seemed to grow like that on purpose, but what purpose was that? I'd always thought that Undergrowth took over the minds of his enemies rather then trap them.

Mr. Lancer ushered the students out of the classroom. Everyone gave Sam weird looks, but the Goth was used to it.

The regular A-list team filed out last, since they always sat towards the back of the class.

Paulina waved a finger at Sam, "La chica es loco!"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Oh please, Paulina. You can hardly even speak English."

Paulina scoffed, but let Sam have the last word.

Sam grabbed my wrist, and dragged me to our lockers, "Woah, Sam. Slow down!"

"What about Danny, Tuck?"

"What about Dani-with-an-I? She can handle it, and besides, Val's out there too."

"No, Danny-with-a-Y," she sighed, "Do you think he's alright?"

I shrugged, "Hey, it'll take a lot more then vines to take Danny down."

This would be where Mr. and Mrs. Fenton broke down the front doors, barged through the school, and pointed their guns at anything that moved. Once it was confirmed that no ghosts were around, Mrs. Fenton pulled out her Fenton-machete (an item that Mr. Lancer was rather peeved about,) and she began clearing doorways with it.

Sam and I finally made our way out of the school as Jazz pulled up. She called out to us, and asked if everyone was okay.

"Everyone's fine," Sam said. "What the heck was with Undergrowth, anyway? And Vortex, why didn't they hurt anyone?"

Jazz frowned, "I don't know, but what I do know, is Danny's home alone. Hop in, I'll drive you to Fenton-works."

We complied without saying anything further. Personally, I wasn't worried until we arrived to an empty Fenton-works…

Jazz ran around the house like a crazy person, somehow convinced that if she checked enough, Danny would appear out of the woodwork. I pointed this out to her, but I only made her cry.

"But Danny's sick! He wouldn't go out fighting ghosts, would he?"

Sam glared at me. I shied away and pulled out my phone. If anybody could find Danny, it was Dani or the Boomerang. The boomerang was a last resort though. It doesn't just track Danny down, it also hits him across the head every single time, without fail.

I've heard that Jazz sends it after Danny when he ticks her off, or won't answer his phone. Am I jealous of Danny's ghost powers? Nah.

Of course, per my usual luck, Danny _did_ appear out of the woodwork. Only he was unconscious, and being carried awkwardly by Dani.

I screamed and fell backwards. Dani gave me an amused look. I sighed, "Found them!"

Sam and Jazz ran into the kitchen before they ushered Dani and Danny to the couch. I frowned, leaned against the kitchen/living room doorway, and watched them. Danny was still in his ghost-mode while unconscious…that had confused all of us. He didn't seem to be in bad shape, but his hair was pretty messed up.

As deep in my thoughts as a fifteen-year-old boy could be, I noticed that someone else had entered the kitchen through the wall, again.

I spun around, "Who the heck are you?" Sam and Jazz's attention went to the woman immediately.

She looked at me with annoyance, "Is everyone in this city so rude?"

Dani tried to console us, "Hey guys, chill she's okay. She saved Danny."

Sam kept her eyes on the woman, "And how do we know that."

Dani sighed and addressed the woman, "I'm sorry, can you explain it again?"

The woman nodded, "Fine, but not until Daniel is awake. I don't wish to explain it a third time. Until then," she addressed to the rest of us, "please take Dani's word. I mean you no harm, and I do not wish to fight." Her voice was calm, "I don't expect any of you to trust me, in fact, and it would probably be better if you didn't."

She gestured to Danny, "Your friend is in danger of his own power. I can prevent any further harm from coming to him, if you'll allow me to do so."

Dani nodded, and pleaded with us a bit more, "Look guys, she has one of Clockworks medallions."

The woman showed it to us, "I am of this current time, but Clockwork sent me with this regardless. He said, 'they will believe you, if you show it to them.'"

Sam hadn't looked pleased, but she abandoned her accusations in favor of doting over Danny with Jazz. I swear the second Danny was in their sights, those girls were on the same page.

Dani and I made lunch for everyone, as we waited for Danny to wake up. We were all weary of the strange woman, as we were around any ghost. Strangely enough though, she didn't seem too ghostly. In fact, she was very pretty, though I didn't dare stare at her for too long…or say it to her face.

Her skin was a warm brown, her pupils glowed shades of orange and red, and her long hair was black as coal with glints of hot-orange sparking from her scalp. She wore a one-piece red cloth dress, which started at her collarbone, and ended at her ankles. Overall, she looked beautiful, but a little under-dressed.

After lunch we all settled down. For our guest, that apparently meant transforming into a dog, and laying at Danny's feet on the couch.

I sat down on the floor, "So…can we at least have a name?"

She opened one of her dog eyes, and glared at me, "Do you ever ask a proper question?"

"Do you ever give a proper answer?" I retorted.

Danny stirred, and grabbed our attention; he sat up, and rubbed his eyes.

His gaze immediately went to the dog-woman, "Guys? Why's there a white-German Shepherd laying at my feet?"

The girls rushed into the room.

The dog-woman snarled for a second, "How dare you, I have a name."

Danny blinked, "I'm dreaming…"

"And I'm talking!" The dog-woman replied, and jumped off of the couch, "I'm tired of this rudeness! Do you not know who I am?"

"No, we don't," I said. "You never gave us a name."

She flinched, and held a look of slight embarrassment.

Danny stood up, "What is going on here?"

The dog-woman barked, "I am of the High-Ghosts, _and_ from this day forward, as decreed by the First Ancient Clockwork, your new master of the fire-core." She stood tall, in her dog form.

"My name is Pele!"

* * *

><p>(POV: Narrator.)<p>

Vlad Master's was right to have very little fear, for the documentation was old, and Pele's strength at the time immature, even before her body was first destroyed. The change began when her sister destroyed her, and left nothing but a frail spirit. However, things had changed in all those some, hundreds of years…

Pg. 249:

Pele. High ghost of the fire-core.

Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of the volcano. The human legends of her, describe a woman of intense jealousy and pride until her sister destroyed her. Her home is naturally, in Hawaii's volcano, occasionally nicknamed 'the navel of the world.' It is said that Pele commonly chased after men to no avail, until said battle against her elder sister, stopped Pele's actions for good. (Legend has it, that Pele tried to seduce her sister's husband.) After Pele's demise, she changed and became a much kinder being. Her now formless energy may never restore itself a new body.

It is said, that her spirit commonly appears to the people of Hawaii as an old woman, a young and beautiful woman, or a white dog. She does this to test their character. If they pass, she brings them good luck, but if they don't she brings them bad luck.

Nothing can be known for sure about her strength. Nor of her other abilities as a being of the dead…

* * *

><p>YES! We have a name.<p>

-'high-ghosts' would simply be: ghosts who have an elemental-core, and who have mastered that core (making them very powerful.) Frostbite would be one, he's just too young to have been around when the book was written.

-Above would be my basic idea of Pele. You can look online for more, but I'd avoid wikipedia. That site had her sounding overpowered. If I'd gone by wiki's account, she'd wind up being a Danny-obsessed-overpowered-Mary-sue. No one wants that. XD

She seemed like the perfect goddess to use. I decided to bring her in since a) it's no secret that Butch had Greek gods in DP, so why not others? b) Because she fit so well for what I needed, and kept me from using an OC. I really wanted an actual legend for the part, and there's plenty of spunk in her!

-I personally went with a German Shepherd, because if Danny were a dog, he would probably be that breed, (Pele appears white, Danny would be black.) The German Shepherd is: loyal to friends, very protective, powerful, stubborn, and (when trained) they can turn aggression on and off like a light switch.

Have I mentioned they're gorgeous dogs? I've seen them in white, black, and the common black and brown. There's a white German Shepherd in my neighborhood that just looks angelic, I hope to own a German Shepherd someday.

…

Updates will probably be on the short side for a few weeks. I've got multiple papers coming up; also, I have final exams coming up. So at some point I'm going to have to take a week off.

As usual, see you Sunday!


	7. The Maiden of Luck & Fire

I'm thinking of drawing up Pele and making her my avatar, that or a modified version of the DP logo. Vote in a review, please?

Mostly fluff and family moments, but this chapter was a ton of fun to write! I have to pay Danny back for all the mean things I did to him…and the things I am _going_ to do. ;) I don't own DP characters.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7. The Maiden of Luck and Fire.<p>

(POV: of Tucker Foley.)

"Can you repeat that?" Danny asked Pele.

Pele barked, "Repeat _what?_ Did I not make myself clear?"

Team Phantom paused. Danny sighed, "Can you go into more detail then, miss?"

Pele's predator dog-eyes glared harshly at Danny, "You will call me Pele, if nothing else. Unless 'master' is more comfortable on your tongue."

Danny stiffened, while Danielle interrupted, "What is this whole 'master' deal anyway? And what did you say about Clockwork?"

Pele calmed down, she already favored Dani above the rest of the team, "I was summoned here by Clockwork to watch over the stripling," Danny frowned at the nickname. "I was told that your cousin had obtained a fire-core, and required training in the cores basic practices. That he was the Phantom, was never revealed to me."

Danny stood up, "So that's how that girl stopped me from burning up! She must've had fire core, too!"

Pele growled, "Do not raise your voice, I am close enough to hear your musings. I have a fire-core, and yes, I am a master of it. That is why I was chosen, among a few other reasons." Pele leaned over to scratch behind her ear, "I also understand that you have a wind-core, am I correct?"

Danny nodded looking slightly confused, "Yeah, that's what Dr. Verglas said."

Pele sat down, "That is good to know, such a core will aid in your training and battle versatility. It also explains a few things…"

"Like what?" Danny asked.

"Like how you're such an airhead," Pele's mouth formed a smirk, Danielle and I laughed, while Danny blushed.

Sam silenced us, "So now what? Where are you going to stay, and how soon until you leave?"

Pele's ears perked up stiffly, acknowledging Sam as a dominant presence, "I'll stay here of course. Danny's fire-core could very easily flare up again soon. Besides, he can't come live with me in my abode, and he is going to be learning many things from me."

"But you can't stay here!" Danny protested, "My parents never let me have a dog when I was a kid, and they still won't now."

Pele frowned, "Then perhaps they'll take a house-guest?" She morphed into her young woman form, her hair shifted in color, and her limbs stretched out.

Danny gaped, "uh, hi..." he rubbed the back of his neck as Sam glared at him.

Jazz sensed the tension, "I'm sorry Pele, but my Mom's pretty strict about who we let stay overnight. Being scientists, ghost hunters, and parents they-"

"What did you just say?" Pele asked bluntly.

"Our parents?"

Pele stood at her full height and tossed her long hair aside, "No. Before that."

"They're scientists?"

"No! In the middle! What did you say?"

Jazz flinched, "They're ghost hunters?"

Pele's hair glistened red at her scalp, "_Hunters?_" Pele glared death at Danny, "You come from _those_ Fenton's? The Fenton family line of HUNTERS!"

Danny took a defensive stance, "So WHAT? If you don't like it, then leave! I don't want you around my family if you have _anything_ against them!"

Pele shouted and punched at the wall, hard enough to crack the plaster, "Old grudges die hard, Danny." Her hair returned to its coal black color, "I will not hold it against them. Your lineage actually explains a few things…"

Danny tried to question Pele about how his lineage could explain anything, but she wouldn't listen. She only reassured that she would not harm any human, then Danny felt confident enough around her to turn-human.

After that, we all needed to calm down. Jazz had us do breathing exercises that only left Pele feeling insulted.

"Breathe in…and out…"

Pele mimicked a sigh, "Child, you do not what to know of the consequences when a fire-core master 'breathes' as such."

Jazz gave Pele a commanding glare, which effectively shut her up. The calm didn't last a minute though, when Danny's parents burst though the front door.

Danielle fled from the house, as Danny and I jumped up to block their view of Pele. Danny frowned, "How is it that I can hear them constantly while they're home, but they always manage to burst into the room as silently as ninja's?"

I furrowed by brow, "I have no idea, they're your parents."

Mr. and Mrs. Fenton brandished their guns on their shoulders, "Hey, kids!" Mr. Fenton declared loudly, "The city's officially ghost free! Well, there's still a lot of yard work to do…"

Mrs. Fenton walked up to Danny, "Sweetie, you're up. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am," Danny, replied.

"Good!" Mr. Fenton proclaimed, "You can do the yard work!"

Team Phantom groaned as a group.

Mrs. Fenton smiled, before she frowned, "Danny, who's this?"

Danny flinched, "Mom, Dad. This is, um." We stood aside, and revealed a happy looking panting white German Shepherd, who relaxed contently on the couch.

"Pele," Danny finished, "This is Pele."

Mrs. Fenton stared at the dog, "young man, you know how your Father and I feel about pets in the house."

"She can sleep in the yard?" Sam chimed in to Pele's annoyance.

Pele jumped off of the couch, and rubbed her chin on Mrs. Fenton's leg, she just begged to be petted.

She complied, "Where did you come from?"

"She uh," Jazz began, "I got her at the pound. She's a German Shepherd, so a lot of people were afraid of adopting her and, well, they _were_ going to put her down, even though nothing's wrong with her and-"

"_Jazz," _Danny whispered, Jazz was good at lying for Danny, but anything else just fell apart for her. "They were going to put her down by tomorrow if she wasn't adopted, so Jazz went ahead and got her."

Mrs. Fenton frowned, "Shouldn't the process be a little more complicated then that? Jazz is only seventeen."

Jazz found some ground to base a statement, "My drivers license says that I was born eighteen years ago, just not _late_ eighteen years ago. They weren't too strict about it, the shelter hands just wanted her to find a good home."

Mrs. Fenton frowned at Jazz, but it was quickly turned upside down (cliché, I know) when Pele rolled over and begged for her pink-underbelly to be rubbed.

"Maddie," Mr. Fenton said cautiously, "You know we can't keep pets in the house."

Pele barked happily, and cuddled up to Mrs. Fenton's torso, and allowed herself to be hugged, "but Jack, she's such a sweetheart!"

Danny snickered, his Mother sounded just like a little kid.

The couple exchanged glances, they each wore a different expression, "Jack it's been a long day. Why don't we have dinner and sleep on it? We'll decide what to do tomorrow."

Jack smiled at the prospect of mealtime, "Alright babe. What's cooking?"

Jazz gasped, "I almost forgot!" She ran out of the house, and back in again, "I've got fudge!"

"Fudge?" Mr. Fenton asked with obvious excitement.

Mrs. Fenton laughed, "Will Sam and Tucker be joining us?"

I thought about it, "Sorry, but we really should be getting home. After all the ciaos, I'll bet my parents are worried."

"_Your_ parents?" Sam questioned, "Tuck, do you want to swap parents for the evening?"

Everyone but Sam laughed, "Really though," Sam began, "As much as I'd like to stay, I'm obligated to face my folks."

Mrs. Fenton nodded and bid us our goodbyes with the rest of the family.

Sam and I walked through the plant-infested neighborhoods. They weren't too bad actually. People had come out, and had taken care of the worst of it.

I walked a few extra blocks with Sam to make sure that she got home all right.

"Are you seriously worried about me in the streets?" She asked me, "You should be worried about the nuclear-meltdown my parents are cooking up in my _house_."

I laughed said goodbye, and then headed home to my own parents to face a similar welcome…

* * *

><p>(POV change: Jazz Fenton.)<p>

After Sam and Tucker left, Mom and I entered the kitchen to start dinner. Danny tried to help, but was soon shooed away and dragged into the lab by Dad.

My Mom engaged in idle chatter, occasionally we tossed Pele some scraps. I was quite shocked actually; she seemed to almost be a dog. A very well behaved dog for sure, but Danny had taught me to never be surprised by a ghosts normalcy. It's not right that you judged them before words were even spoken, or actions committed.

Apparently, Pele just liked Mom so much to the point that _she'd _forgotten that she was a ghost-dog.

Mom opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs, "Honestly, I bought three dozen eggs last week. How do they disappear so quickly?"

I stationed myself by the stove to stir the pasta, "I have no idea, time just flies by."

"I guess so…" Mom seemed lost in memories.

I sighed. I lied to her again, and over something so trivial. For the past few months, I'd been cooking Danny breakfast, lunch, and sometimes I even made dinner for the entire family. Mom and Dad were almost always in the lab when we ate, so they'd barely noticed.

Don't get me wrong; it was never a, 'woman belongs in the kitchen,' thing, even though I rather like cooking. A few months ago, Sam pointed out that Danny looked _extremely_ skinny. It took some "planning," but I finally managed to get a look at Danny when I spilled hot-soup on his shirt, and made him take it off.

I was scared for his sake, but before I told him, I wanted to know just what was going wrong. So, I watched his daily habits for a few days. He usually stumbled out of bed in the morning, grabbed the first cereal he could get his hands on. Then he would eat as much as he could, before he had to leave for school. How good could cafeteria lunches possibly be for him? The only real meal he had was dinner…

I blamed myself for not catching Danny's unhealthy patterns sooner.

Since then, I've been making a point to make him something-eggs every morning, and a large lunch to take to school. He's filled out and gotten bulkier, and his mood has improved dramatically since then. He actually rushes out of bed in the morning for breakfast. With the extra boost to his health and energy levels, he's gotten injured a lot less. His grades have improved a little, too…

"Jazz, can you hand me the pasta strainer?"

"Huh?"

Mom gave me a knowing look, "The pasta strainer, dear." I pulled it out of the cupboard and gave it too her, "What's on your mind sweetheart? Is it boys?"

I laughed, "I was thinking about Danny, actually."

"Oh?"

I nearly rolled my eyes, "I was just thinking, that's all."

Mom took the pasta from me and strained it, "Oh. I'm glad you two have become so close. I wish I could've been closer to my sister, like you and Danny are. Tell me, what brought that on?"

It had taken me a second to come up with a good answer, "I started being a good sister, and became someone he could talk to."

Mom nodded and called they boys up from the lab. Then we set the table as Danny ran out to get the meat of off the Bar-B-Q.

It was the first time in a while that we'd had a nice family dinner. Well, family plus one. Pele had lain down by the table between Dad and Danny. We talked about ghosts, the lab, weapons, and amazingly school and friends.

Then it came time for dessert, fudge which we all had to clean our plates for, if we wanted any.

I had no problem, so I cleared my dishes and sat back down to wait for Dad and Danny.

I smirked at the food still leftover on the boy's plates, Danny had eaten his veggies first; "so then I can cover up the taste with the other stuff," he said.

Dad however, had plunged straight into the meat and mashed-potato. He'd left the steamed veggies for last.

Danny and I watched discreetly as our Father, a full-grown man, picked at his veggies like a five-year-old. He knew very well, that we were waiting on him. Mom even started the dishes out of habit, the result being that she turned her back on the table, and on us.

Dad stared at her back for a moment, a calculated look plastered on his face. My little brother and I exchanged confused glances, what had gotten into him?

Then silently and without taking his gaze off of Mom, Dad picked his plate up off the table, leaned over, nudged Pele, and let eat the veggies directly from the plate.

Danny and I gaped, Dad glanced at us, "You didn't see anything," he said patting Pele on her head as she licked her chops. "Maddie, I'm done! Time for fudge!"

Danny hid his face in his hands, stifling giggles. I'll admit it, I was doing the same thing.

"Alright Jack, but we have to put the leftovers away first. Danny and Jazz have to help, too."

We all laughed as I made my way for the rest of the dishes, and Danny made his way to the leftover steak that still sat on the counter, but he wasn't the only one…

Pele grabbed the steak in one full-swoop, and darted up the stairs with it. Danny shouted and chased after her, tailing her around the house until he finally gave up, and let her have her treat.

We laughed as a family towards their antics. Danny seemed perplexed about Pele's behavior, but she was being too playful to stay angry at. Finally, we got to have our very sacred dessert.

Mom and Dad went back into the lab while Danny and I stayed up to watch a movie. Then we went to bed, and left Pele with the couch all to herself…

* * *

><p>Fluff is so much fun to write.<p>

Our black lab Ike, once stole an entire cube of butter off of the counter in a second. Since he knew exactly were to strike, I'm convinced that he planned for it. XDD.

-Pele's attitude is partially affected by what form she takes. (Old lady, young lady, or dog.)

-Remember when I mention how Pele brings good/bad luck to those with good/bad characters? Let's just say, the Fenton family is going to become just a little bit closer.

Thank you for all of your support! I actually managed to make this one fairly long. I typed it up in a few hours, but no promises on length for the rest of this month! Once school gets out I'll type up a storm.

Until then, see you Sunday!


	8. What is it with Women?

Thankfully, my chapter is long, again. Hopefully, my quantity hasn't paid itself in quality. If you find an error, or consistent problem, review and let me know!

I don't own DP. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: What is it with Women?<p>

(POV: of Danny Fenton.)

It was Friday, Jazz had woken me up for breakfast and our parents were still in the lab.

Pele was ridding the yard free of squirrels. She came panting in through the back door, "I forgot how much fun that is."

"What was with you yesterday at dinner?" I asked.

Pele nuzzled her face against the wall, "What do you mean?"

I waved my hand through the air, "Last night. You were acting all…you know."

"Like a dog?" Pele asked bluntly, "I've been doing this for a while, Danny. This is a walk in the park, and speaking of that." She wagged her tail excitedly.

Jazz paused over the pan of fried eggs, "You mean, you want to go for a walk, to the park?"

Pele yipped, "Uh-huh!"

I sat down at the table, "Then…Well, you'll have to wait until after school. We'll have the whole weekend to straighten things out."

Pele stretched out and settled down by my feet, she almost blended in with the kitchen tile, "What's to straighten out? I'm staying here, and there's nothing you can do about it."

I stared at her for a moment, "Just what it with girls and their constantly changing moods?"

"Just wait till you get married," Jazz said and placed our meals on the table.

Pele snickered at me for a moment, but eventually my parents came up and we had breakfast together.

…

Sam and Tucker had arrived only about ten minutes later. We said our goodbyes and headed outside towards for Jazz's car.

Tucker tried to look cute, "Pleeeeeese? I've got my learner's-permit now!"

Jazz shoved him; "You are NOT driving MY car to school. No matter how good of a techno-geek you are, you will not so much as even _touch _the steering wheel, got it?"

But of course, what did Tucker do? Well, he leaned over, stared at Jazz, and touched his pinky-finger to the steering wheel. Sealing the deal with a light humph.

Sam grinned beside me, "Bad move, Tuck." She said quietly.

Jazz put her hands on her hips, "Oh, so you're feeling lucky?"

Tucker paused, not sure what to expect. Jazz took off her backpack and swung it around, menacingly. Tucker blinked a few times, then turned heel and darted around the driveway away from Jazz's massive backpack.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" Jazz shouted in her high-pitched voice, "These are hard-cover!"

Sam and I laughed and filed into the car as Jazz got a lucky hit on Tuck. They got in the car soon after. Jazz and I sat in the front seats, while Tucker and Sam occupied the back.

During the first few minutes of the car ride, we just laughed at Tucker's expense. He still rubbed at his lower back (his butt,) embarrassed.

"I warned you," Jazz said, and glanced in the rear-view-mirror.

Tucker pouted, I laughed in good spirit until Jazz absentmindedly turned the radio on.

"_Hello,"_ came the female-voice across the radio, _"and thank you for tuning to APGS, your number one source for news of the ghostly kind!" _

Jazz made a hasty move to turn it off. "Leave it," I said rudely. Jazz complied; she figured that I would take anything they said without complaint.

"_As we all know,"_ the woman came across proudly, _"Amity Park, just yesterday, faced one of the greatest ghost attacks since the invasion of Pariah Dark. Fortunately, not a single injury was sustained from the invasion. Well, except for the a blisters no-doubt sustained from cleaning up the Plant-ghost's remains!"_ I sighed at the pathetic attempt at a joke, _"Miniscule damage occurred on a city wide scale. Mostly floor damage, and little to no damage done to all schools, which means no three-day-weekend for Amity's students! Don't feel cheated, kids. I still have to work too!"_

Jazz kept glancing at me; she feared the worst had yet to come.

"_On a more interesting note," _She began plainly, _"two of the five invading ghosts were defeated by Danny Phantom. Phantom, apparently, went through some pretty amazing power-bursts during that period of time. All the while being extremely unstable, then one final burst, before his signal disappeared. The GIW has released a rare statement. To quote, _"Because of the extreme unstableness of Phantom's energy, all previous study of ghosts states that he has been destroyed. His destruction was caused by a colossal implosion due to his own ectoplasmic-energy" _end quote."_

Sam leaned forward and closer to me, "They're not nearly that lucky."

"Thanks to Pele," I added unnecessarily.

I returned my attention back to the radio, _"So which is it, Amity? Will our city be better off without Phantom? Or will he be missed? If he is even gone at all? Please go to our website, .com and cast your vote!"_

"Wow," Jazz said absently, "Pele got there just in time, didn't she?"

"She sure did," Tucker chimed in from behind me.

The lady on the radio station, named Hannah, went on about the rest of the ghosts. Just like Dani had told me, she fought Plasmius and the Fright-Knight, but they both managed to disappear on her.

She then added that the Halloween festival would not be cancelled, and encouraged the station's listeners to attend.

Jazz turned the radio off after that. None of us really cared to listen any further.

…

School was the usual. There was talk about the invasion, express concerns about Phantom, and even a few mentions of the Halloween festival. Overall, there were no ghosts that attacked that day, which I found very odd. Sam and Tucker tried to get me to calm down, long enough to actually enjoy the strange absence. I was less then thrilled, but shut my mouth for the rest of the day.

The next shock came in gym. Normally when I get my blood pumping, I sweat like any other human being. That time however, I didn't have any problems. In fact, there was nothing that Teslaf put the class through, that made me break a sweat.

I had gotten weird looks from her, and everyone else. The weather wasn't too hot, but normally I'd show at least a little strain. I couldn't even find it in myself to dramatize fatigue.

...

When lunch came, I found myself double-loading my tray. I'd just been really hungry that entire day.

Sam glared at me, not only did I have a Tucker-sized amount of meat on my plate, but everything else was overflowing as well.

"Danny, what's up with you? You can't be that hungry," Sam said a bit concerned.

Tucker snorted, "Leave him alone, Sam. We boys need our nutrition!" He then proceeded to gobble up his food like a pig.

"You'd get more nutrition if you'd actually put all the food in your mouth, Tuck." Sam snapped quickly.

I snickered and competed with Tuckers rate of eating.

...

When school got out, and I served my last set-detention. Then I flew home to meet the rest of the team. Pele still had a bit of explaining to do.

When I arrived, Tucker and Sam were in the living room playing video games since my home was pretty much theirs as well. Pele watched the lazily from the couch.

She jumped down when I came in, "Well. Look who's FINALLY arrived. Tell me, what kept you?"

"Detention," I said as if it weren't important.

Pele tilted her fluffy, white head to the side, "Detention? What crime have you committed, and why have they let you go so soon?"

I walked past her and dropped my backpack on the floor, "Not that kind of detention, Pele. An after-school detention."

Pele blinked twice, "Oh…"

Sam paused her game as I headed for the kitchen for something to eat.

"Seriously?" She asked, "What's with him? I know teenaged boys eat a lot, but come one. This happened overnight."

Pele hounded me away from the fridge and into the living room, "I think that I may know what it is, Danny. If you'll sit down for a moment, I'll explain."

We complied, "So, what is it?" I asked slightly nervous.

Pele settled down on the carpet, "It's a side effect of a juvenile fire-core." Pele spread herself out on the floor, "It's normal for you to be hungry. When a fire-core is fully matured, and its master has gained complete or near-complete control over it, then the fire-core derives all the energy it needs from the earth's core or the sun."

She licked her paw a few times, "But before that, your core needs energy from your bodies natural consumption. Normally, that would be negative emotion, but you're not that kind of ghost."

"Being a Halfa?" Tucker questioned, I rolled my eyes as the nickname.

Pele paused, "I suppose so. Yes, that could be the most part of it." She turned her attention back to me, "You'll need to consume a much greater quantity of food, and your ghostly form may become restless with hunger. Luckily, you seem to be able to feed off of your own emotions."

I nodded, "Is this unique to the fire-core?"

Pele huffed, "You have three cores, why don't you tell me?" I didn't respond. Pele sighed, "Being a carrier of a cold-core, of course you've experienced something similar. With a cold-core, it's normal for a ghost's rate of energy to slow down, creating a much calmer ghost. You however, being half-human, and residing mostly in your human form, have a much higher rate of energy consumption. I believe you call it a metabolism? The human body consumes calories at a rate of about double when cold as you are, this affects your ghostly form as well."

I nodded, and let her continue, "To top it all off, you have a wind core, which gains and looses energy depending on the state of your other cores."

Sam interrupted, "But I thought you said, that no other ghost has multiple cores? How do you know if any of this is even true?"

Pele's lip twitched, "I know this, because I have fought with and against many carriers of the different cores. Do not question my experiences."

Sam glared, but said nothing further. Tuck and I didn't interrupt either; that was clearly a girl thing.

Tuck tried to break the silence, "What's this whole wind-core thing anyway? We don't know much about it."

Pele calmed down, "Firstly, before it was called the wind-core, it was referred to as the sister-core or the companion-core. This is because, even though it is indeed a very powerful core, it doesn't have much use other then to enhance the other three cores." Pele seemed almost lost in her memories, "Decades ago, I ran a mission for the Observant council. I was partnered with a wind-core master and sent out purely to cause havoc, and destruction."

Her eyes almost looked fearful, "He enhanced my fire-core in amazing ways. If I sent out a firebomb, he could expand it into a massive fiery blast of double the power, and ten times the range. I could form a small ball of fire in my palm, and he could send a blast of air through it, creating an inferno the likes of which I could never create without him." She looked me in the eyes, "You can breathe fire, Danny. There has only been one other ghost capable of such a feat."

She relaxed, "The same can be said with the cold-core. You can create a blizzard. Something else quite un-normal about you, is your uncanny 'ghostly wail' as you've put it." Pele stared at my throat, "Being a companion-core, you normally wouldn't be able to do that much with it, but I've seen the power of your vocal attacks." She blinked a few times, "Perhaps it's merely because you're still human, and have the muscular structure to speak."

She tilted her head, "Any questions?" she asked.

"Actually yeah," I said, "Today in gym, I didn't break a sweat. Why didn't I, exactly?"

Pele's face scrunched up in thought, "I suppose...the human body sweats to cool itself down. Now that you have a fire-core, your body is now normally internally hotter then your environment. Therefore, when you exert yourself, your body doesn't overheat, because it can't. Also, your cold-core is now constantly active, and probably cools you down in order for your fire-core to stay stable." She shrugged slightly, "I can't be sure how your core's interact with each other. That would best be put to examination by Dani."

She stood up, "Now, I have a question for you." She walked over to me and looked up almost as if to howl, "How do I activate this medallion?"

I ran my fingers across the collar; it was Clockwork's medallion she showed us earlier. I hadn't noticed the thin velvet collar hidden underneath her thick white fur. The medallion sat proudly at the base of her neck, the initials CW inscribed gracefully.

"We have to go to Clockworks, first. He opens up a portal for us to jump through."

"I see," she said irritably, "I was hoping that we wouldn't have to travel far, or be in his presence. Will your friends be joining us?"

I glanced at Sam and Tucker, it was agreed that it was too dangerous for them to come along when Dani and I were training, so I didn't think they'd feel left out.

I turned back to Pele, "No, but Dani will probably be there. I kind of need her around to train."

"Well, then lets go." She stood up and headed for the basement, before I jumped up and stopped her.

"My parents! You can't just go waltzing in there, they made Jazz and me promise never to let you in there."

Pele hummed and huffed, "Then distract them so that we can get through. Dani has already gone through the portal, yes?" I nodded, "Good, then get on with the distraction."

I sighed and turned to the basement, "Mom! Dad! We're going to take Pele to the park! We'll be gone all afternoon!"

Mom came into the doorways view, Pele panted and wagged her tail at her, "Thanks for telling us sweetie. Take care of my baby-boy, will you Pele?"

Pele barked, and stood tall in response. I closed the door and blushed, "Okay, Pele. You really don't have to fake it that much, it's really creeping me out."

Pele looked at me curiously, "What? I like her, she's a nice lady. Very patient. So, now what?"

I smiled, and walked Tucker and Sam out the door.

"Transform into your woman form please, Phantom can't be seen with a white-German Shepherd."

Pele did so, "You've caused them ciaos before, haven't you?"

I laughed and transformed, "You have no idea."

…

"Nah-nah-nah-na-NAah-NA!" **BANG,** "Ha-ha you missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" I said, pointed my butt, then flew out of the lab.

"Get back here, ghost kid!"

"If get my hands on you-" my parents randomly shouted, and ran out of the lab.

I phased back through the floor, and pressed my thumb against the genetic lock.

Pele came into the lab in her woman form, "Wow. That was…well, I don't know what that was…"

I laughed, "Get used to it, there's plenty more where that came from."

We dove into the portal.

…

The flight was uneventful, we met Dani just outside Clockwork's tower. Then as a trio, we went inside and respectfully greeted our host.

Clockwork gave us a faint smile, "It is good to see you all again. Pele, I hope Danny hasn't given you too much trouble."

Pele rolled her eyes, "You should've warned me, gear-head."

Dani and I froze. I glared at Pele harshly, team Phantom had a lot of respect for the ghost, and she had insulted him in his own layer.

"Relax, Danny," he assured me, "Pele and I are old acquaintances."

Pele snorted, "As in, this guy pushed me around and had me running errands for the Observants, for nearly a century!" She crossed her arms and refused to looks at anyone.

"What is it with woman?" I asked Clockwork in a rare sprout of guy talk.

Clockwork frowned slightly, "Danny, I've existed since the beginning of time. I've seen the universe created, and I know all that is in it." He blinked, "I still haven't a clue about women."

Pele and Dani high-fived behind us, I let loose a small chuckle.

Clockwork headed to one of his portals, "Here we are. Good luck to all of you."

Pele dove through without hesitation, happy to be out of there. Dani followed suit after she checked her medallion. I stayed put for a moment.

"Yes?" Clockwork asked knowingly.

I frowned, "Pele talked about the potential of my wind-core, but I don't even know were to start. Who can teach me?"

Clockwork shifted to his old man form, "The wind-core is much more a core to be learned, not taught."

I chewed my lip, "Thanks anyway."

Clockwork handed me one of his medallions, "Accidents happen, young Phantom. Perhaps it's fate, and perhaps it merely good timing."

Ah, another answer that won't apply for X amount of time, "Thanks Clockwork," I said anyway, and dove through the portal…

* * *

><p>A whole lot of not much, but don't worry. This was mostly about cores, and I needed to write it all down to place a foundation in order for the trainingteaching/powers to make sense. The next chapter will be full of training, and I will be updating again next week. Hopefully, the paper I have due this week won't affect the length too much. Thanks to you guys, my typing's gotten really fast!

See you Sunday!


	9. Tuff Love

Surprise attack! Vlad's POV addiction! Yeah, I'm bringing him back into this for a chapter.

NOTICE! No update next week, due to finals.

Chapter title has a bit of a joke to it. ;)

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Tuff Love.<p>

(POV: of Vlad Masters.)

After the GiW statement, (regarding Daniel's "death") it was my job as mayor, to perform damage control.

Though it was obvious to me that the boy was indeed not dead; I had planned to remain neutral. Instead, I wanted to assess the opinions of the city to allow myself to seek their favor.

That all changed however, when no ghosts attacked the city for nearly forty hours straight. It was problematic, and abnormal for sure, but more importantly, it signaled that Phantom possibly was the main attraction for ghosts, and that his leave would lessen the attacks on the city.

It was a useful play indeed, but Daniel had become too good at turning the tables in his favor, even by mistake. Instead, I decided that a seed must be planted in the minds of the citizens. A seed that held doubt, and would grow into distaste as more "evidence" turned up.

So, I arranged a small press conference. Only the largest of Amity's news providers were invited, along with APGS broadcasters and the PHAN.

I took my place on the podium, "Greetings, fellow citizens. I am Mayor Vlad Masters. Now, I shall get right down to business."

The reporters sat of the edges of their seats, "In regards to Phantom's demise, I will make no assumptions. He will not be considered gone until conclusive evidence is found, or he shows his face again in this city."

The reporter's faces skewed in disappointment, "As for the proceeding cleanup. I am pleased to say, that all damage is temporary, and our plants will grow as healthy and as beautiful as ever."

I paused; the reporters were clearly looking for a much bigger story. So I gave it to them, "And finally, for my last statement. Regarding the number of ghost attacks since the disappearance of Danny Phantom nearly two days ago, there have been none."

The reporters jumped up from their seats and raised their hands into the air. I waited calmly as they shouted their questions. After a moment, they realized that I wasn't going to speak until they calmed down.

So they did, "Channel 6, please." I said politely.

The young man stood up, "Why exactly have the ghosts stopped coming? Aren't there usually at least two ghost fights a day?"

I smiled in a confident manor, "There could be any number of reasons, but we cannot dismiss that with Danny Phantom absence, the other ghosts disappear. There is no doubt in my mind, that the presence of Danny Phantom attracts ghosts, for they are obsessive creatures and are always looking for a challenge. This is why normally, two ghost fights will occur on a daily basis. Channel 7, please."

"Thank you Mayor Masters. Do you personally think that Phantom could be dead?"

I paused. That question could've put me on thin ice, "I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. As ghosts gain more and more power, they become increasingly unstable until their forms can no longer handle the pressure, and they implode into oblivion." The crowd murmured, "Of course, until we have hard proof, we can only make meager assumptions. That is basically, how Danny Phantom could have "died," so to speak."

The session didn't last much longer after that. I was known for getting straight to the point, and right down to business while satisfying everyone's hunger for information.

A few hours later, I received all the gain I could hope for.

"_Is Danny Phantom 'dead?"_ Hannah of APGS said through the radio, _"72% thought yes, while 28% thought no. Is Danny Phantom's absence a good thing? 53% said yes, while 47% said no. Is Danny Phantom a good, or a bad ghost? 49% said yes, while 51% said no."_

Finally, I had Daniel's approval ratings down a significant 18%. Oh, the people sure do stick by their heroes, don't they?

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny Phantom.)<p>

I met Pele and Dani on the other side of the portal. They were still smiling and chatting away as if they'd been friends for years.

I waited for a moment while they finished, "So, where do we start?"

Pele shut her eyes as her hair began to glisten in shades of red, "Learn to activate your fire-core. Allow your conscious to understand between a resting, and awakened core."

With that in mind, I felt…

Nothing, I felt nothing. "Pele? Is there anything more to this?"

She didn't respond right away, "Close your eyes."

I did, and listened to her footsteps as she walked through the grass. Just before I questioned what she was doing, she jammed her fist into my gut and twisted it, and nearly lifted me off the ground.

Dani shouted out to me, but I couldn't respond. My stomach was on fire, and my torso heaved. I hacked up fluids, and collapsed onto the ground.

I coughed, "What the HECK was that for?"

Dani ran up beside me and invaded my privacy with her aura-sense. She blinked and stopped acting agitated.

"You've sensed it, then?" Pele asked Dani, who nodded in return.

Pele pointed to the ground, "Look."

I glared at her, but sat up and looked to the ground, where there was a strange green liquid. It looked like ectoplasm at first, but then I noticed that it bubbled, and ignited the grass around it.

Pele bent down and put out the flames, "Now do you feel it?"

She had upset me, but I closed my eyes one more time and felt. There it was, I felt the core in my stomach clear as day.

"What did you do?" I asked dumbly.

"It's juvenile, and it likes to sleep, so I woke it up. Granted, in a more violent way, but as you move along in your training, you'll find that a blow to your lower torso will cause you to spit up some of the liquid-fire that burns within your fire-core."

I nodded and stood up, "Okay, now what? And please tell me that it doesn't involve me getting punched?"

"That depends on whether you behave or not." Dani giggled, "That includes you too, little Phantom."

…

"Okay, now lets try it again."

Pele had me doing fire-orbs for nearly an hour. I was only just starting to get the hang of it.

"Oh, come on!" I shouted.

Pele sighed, "If you feel so defeated at this, then why don't you use your whip-tongue and team it alongside with your flames, as you did earlier?"

I blinked, "Huh?"

Pele sighed again, "Activate your cold-core. Bring it up to its full openness, and then pair it with the whip-tongue."

Dani stood up, "The what?"

Pele glanced between us, "The whip-tongue? His vocal attacks, they are force from his wind-core, but more importantly, the rare style from which they are a part of is called, whip-tongue."

"Beats Boom of Doom," I said absentmindedly.

Pele just stared at me, "I suppose it does. Either way, as I said earlier, the wind-core is a companion core, but on rare accounts the core's carrier possesses a technique called whip-tongue. Basically, it is a combined wind, and vocal blast capable of great destruction."

"So, my ghostly-wail is a really the whip-tongue?" I asked.

"That sounds about right, I've never seen this 'ghostly wail.' Now, back to my point. Maybe, if you use your cold-core along side the whip-tongue, you'll have an understanding of the sensation, and be able to perform in the same way with the fire-core."

I nodded, "Sounds reasonable. Dani, get ready!"

Dani flew a few hundred yards away and put up a shield, "ready when you are!"

Pele's eyes shot open in horror. She knocked me to the ground, "Were you going to use the whip-tongue on her? Are you mad?"

I spit the dirt out of my face, "What? We do this all the time! Dani has a great defense."

Pele grabbed me by my uniform's collar, "Listen to me, very carefully, stupid boy. The whip-tongue is NOT to be shouted at _anyone _or _anything_ that you don't want destroyed. You will NEVER take the chance that Dani will not be able to block your attack, am I clear?"

Dani flew close to us. "You're clear," I said.

She shoved me to the ground. Dani protested, "But I really can handle it! I've done it a hundred times!"

Pele turned to me and glared death, "I didn't realize it was so bad!" I cried in a rather un-manly voice.

Pele pointed to a mountainside, "Attack there. And make sure that no one is in your way."

I huffed, but got up and faced the mountainside. I closed my eyes and felt…

Nothing…Darn it.

"I've got nothing, Pele."

Pele stared at me, dumbfounded, "Are you not capable of using your wind-core and cold-core, or any core, together, at all?"

I puffed out my chest, "Of course I can! I've just never done it one purpose, that's all."

Pele pinched the bridge of her nose, "I need a break. Dani, why you settle down for lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," Dani and I said as one.

"No, not you Danny." Pele pointed a finger in my chest. "You attack that hill until you manage to pair your wind-core, with either you cold-core or your fire-core."

"What? That's not fair!"

"That's our deal," and with that, she walked away.

I turned back to the hillside, "Alright, here goes nothing."

* * *

><p>(POV: of Dani Phantom.)<p>

Pele and I walked a few hundred yards away. I left my backpack underneath one of the few trees that grew in 'nowhere land.' When we reached it, I transformed, pulled out a blanket and a sandwich, and sat down.

Pele watched me for a moment, curiously.

I swallowed and broke the silence, "So, why are you being so hard on Danny? I know he can take it, but sometimes you really are too harsh."

Pele sat nervously, and ran her fingers through her long hair, "It's just…The stripling has so much potential, and he's so active in combat. It's the sooner the better, that he learns."

I took another bite, "What kind of potential are we talking about?"

Pele transformed into her dog form and settle down on the blanket, much more comfortable on the ground that way. "The wind-core is able to compliment the electric-core and the cold-core just fine, but it can put the fire-core on a whole new level. The devil himself couldn't make a grander inferno."

Pele looked towards Danny, who was stressing himself to get it right. We could hear a mild _'thromm' _sound about twice a minute.

"It's a wonder that he already came this far. That wind attack is quite powerful, if only he could combine it with his fire-core at will. I can't imagine, being the second fire-breather in the history of dead."

I swallowed, "What are you talking about? I have a friend that can breathe fire; Dora, and I'll bet that plenty of other ghosts can breathe fire, too."

Pele laughed, "Dora, of the amulet or Aragon?" I nodded, "Dani, Dora cannot actually breathe fire. Technically, she has no power at all. All of her powers come form her amulet, and even then, she can only produce a flame because the amulet transforms her into a dragon. You see, when the amulets were created, the dragons were still around. Each of the two amulets contains a dragon soul. That is the only reason why their fire can even ignite."

I stared, "I had no idea. What about the other ghosts?"

"Unless they have a fire-core, or use a source of fuel, their flames cannot ignite by themselves. Still, they can spew fire form their mouths, but it's a bit of an illusion. It's heat-breathing more then anything else."

I nodded, "So what makes Danny different?"

Pele pondered for a second, "He's different because he has a wind-core and a fire-core. In short, Danny can actually _breathe_. That is where other ghosts lack, regardless of whether or not they have a fire-core. I cannot even produce a flame from my mouth. Your cousin can do so simply by use of his core's."

My lunch was nearly gone, "So, he's only the second ghost to be able to do this?"

Pele looked back over in Danny's direction, "I'm honestly thinking that there still is only one."

_**THROMM!**_

Pele and I jumped; our eyes darted in Danny direction. The mountain was in flames.

"Danny!" I did a flying leap and transformed, and immediately flew towards Danny. Pele followed, and stifled the flames on the mountain.

Danny was panting heavily and didn't seam to notice when I tried to console him.

He stood up straight, "Lunch time!"

Pele and I face palmed…

* * *

><p>FINALLY I got to bring out the name. FINALLY I get to credit serin2 for conjuring up the perfect title. FINALLY! "BOOM OF DOOM" SHALL DIE!<p>

-Full credit for the name "whip-tongue" goes to serin2, who suggested it all the way back in chapter 11 of "A Stroll Through the Mall." I seriously love the name, and I've been chomping at the bits all year to use it! It fits perfectly for my future plans! MWAHAHA!

REMEMBER! No update next week due to finals. I hope this chapter turned out alright, it's a little short for my standards.

See you in two weeks!


	10. Eureka!

Exams went great! They were a lot of essay questions, and because of fanfiction, I blew through the typing. That cut the work in half!

There are lots of POV changes, so watch out.

Thanks for waiting! I don't own DP.

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Eureka!<p>

(POV: of Dani Phantom.)

My Cousin munched happily on his lunch, satisfied with his progress. Pele held a skeptical look on her K9 face.

"So what did you learn?" She asked.

Danny swallowed, "That I can combine my fire-core and my wind-core."

"At will?" She asked critically.

Danny paused, "Maybe…"

I laughed, "Fail," I said simply.

Pele sighed with obvious frustration as we tried to ignore her, "I just don't get it! When my powers developed, it was merely second nature for me. Why does it take you so long to learn?"

Danny put his hands up defensively, "Hey, I'm only half-human, plus this isn't my first core. I did that fire-whip-tongue-thingy, didn't I?"

Pele sighed, "Yes. Yes you did, Danny." Pele's face scrunched up in thought for a moment, before she relaxed and a look of realization came over her.

"Danny, make a fire orb." She commanded.

"But I can't, it doesn't work for me."

Pele barked, "Do the best that you can, then thrust your hand from your left, to your right."

Danny sighed put down his sandwich, and transformed. He stood up and faced away from us.

"I still don't know what you think you're getting at…"

"Try," Pele said sternly.

Danny glared at Pele from the corner of his eye, but did as she asked. He lifted his right hand up, and to the left, then created a small unstable fire orb. He concentrated, and then swung his hand horizontally across his chest.

The orb stabilized and expanded. In a second, it filled up half of his palm in sheer mass, and masked his forearm in light. Green flames exploded from the orb and spread out like an eclipse in front of him. Creating a wall of intense, hot light. The flames roared like a hundred lions.

Pele yipped and darted away, I screamed and covered myself with a shield, Danny fell backwards, and crawled back to me.

He panted, "What the heck was that?"

I slapped his right shoulder, "How the heck would I know?"

Pele came back crawling on her belly. Her ears were pined down to her head.

"I- I think I do…" She said, her voice a full octave higher then normal.

"Enlighten us," Danny and I said irritably, and as one.

Pele relaxed and lifted her ears up, "I believe the problem is not that Danny cannot use his cores together, the problem is that he cannot use them apart. At least he cannot use his fire-core separately. Attacks as such are a last resort. Your flames burn hot, and as flames, not as a liquid-beam like mine do."

"So, that means?" Danny asked.

"It means," Pele replied with her usual tone, "That in order for you to use your fire-core, you must use your wind-core with it, and to use that, you must be moving. Also…"

Danny interrupted, "Does that mean we're done for today?"

I nudged him, "Don't be rude."

He nudged me back, "Don't be pushy."

Pele growled, "Fine, were finished for now. Just swear to me that you understand one thing."

She pounced on Danny's lap to stop him from getting up.

"You are a walking means of devastating destruction. You have no control now, and you never will. Even in death you will bring destruction, and in life you must be cautious."

Danny gulped, "Thanks for the tip." He shoved Pele off of him and stood up, before he made a hasty retreat by means of Clockwork's medallion.

Pele stared into space. I patted the ground beside me, "Did you want to talk about something?"

She cuddled up beside me, and let me stroke her head. "Actually, yes."

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny Phantom.)<p>

After I pulled off the medallion, I was transported back into Clockworks lair. Said ghost was floating in the other room in front of his tele-portal-screen-thingys. I sighed and pondered saying goodbye.

"Hello, young Phantom"

I flinched, his tone said 'get over here' and the usage of the word 'young' was a polite way of saying, I'm the boss of you, so do as I ask.

"Hey, Clockwork. Uh, did you need something?"

"You're troubled."

It wasn't a question, "What's new?" Yeah, he didn't appreciate my pitiful attempt at a joke.

"Danny, some things are better put out of mind and to rest. What is troubling you?"

I sighed, "This whole fire-core thing. That's what's troubling me. I have that kind of power and with no control? It's not meant for me! I just…"

"You're worried about becoming like Dan?"

I nodded. 'Like Dan,' was the new phrase for me becoming a bad person. Dan himself would never happen to me. One, Clockwork wouldn't let it and two, for me to become Dan, I'd have to split both Vlad, and myself and merge both ghost-halves together and under the right circumstances.

Needless to say, I knew that I needed to dodge that bullet.

"Of course I'm worried, Dan was so powerful, and so destructive. I'm becoming the same way."

"Of course you are, Danny. It is only a mere part of growing up. Pele and I grow in strength as time goes by, as does every other being. Time just passes by faster for those who have little of it."

I smiled, "Thanks Clockwork. See you later!"

"Goodbye, Danny."

I flew out of his tower, and back home…

…

The Fenton Portal was within my sights. I kept flying at a straight, steady pace until I reached the doors. With a hardy shove, the doors were open enough for me to slip through.

Thankfully, my parents weren't in the lab. I floated there for a minute in thought, before I turned invisible and headed for Sam's. I tended to meander over to her place when I wasn't thinking straight.

I knocked on her window; she was at her computer, video-chatting with Tucker.

She turned to me, "Danny, come on in."

I phased through the window and transformed, then I took my place in view of the camera.

"Hey Sam. Hey Tuck."

Sam sat back down; I leaned on the back of her chair.

"So, how'd it go?" Tuck asked over the computer.

I sighed, "Can we meet somewhere to talk? I'd rather not explain this over the computer."

Sam and Tucker raised their eyebrows in mixed emotions.

"How bout the park? In that really wooded area?"

I nodded, "That sounds good. How long does it take you to get there?"

Tuck thought for a second, "I can get there in ten minutes. You?"

"Five by air, with Sam." I glanced at Sam to confirm.

She looked away, "Flying is nice."

"Okay then," Tucker said with an odd smirk, "See you then."

* * *

><p>(POV: of Dani Phantom.)<p>

"You're crazy. You are utterly insane. You should be place in a loony bin, and forgotten to the ages."

Pele flinched, "I know it's crazy! I can hardly believe it myself, but I strongly believe that that is who Danny truly is."

I paused, "I repeat."

Pele huffed, "Would you please stop it?"

I sighed, "Well what do you expect me to believe? Did Danny's stunt earlier mess with your head?"

Pele looked away defiantly, "Fine. I confide in you my worries, and you crucify me as a moron."

I grabbed her white head and pulled her to face me, "No! If you said that about anyone else, well almost anyone else, I would've believed you, but this is Danny we're talking about."

Pele calmed down a little bit, "Well, thank you for that. For what it's worth."

I stood up, and prepared to take off my medallion. Pele stayed in her dog form since she could control Clockwork's medallions with mental commands.

I paused my fingers over my medallion, "Pele?"

"Yes?" She replied softly.

"Do you really think that Danny, just being Danny, could become…as powerful as an Ancient?"

Pele didn't make a sound, "I wouldn't leave it to the impossible."

We took off our medallions.

* * *

><p>(AN I am SO tempted to leave you right here.)

(POV: Narrator.)

In the brief moment between Danny's leave, and Dani and Pele's arrival, the ghost of time found a rare moment, in which he found it worth his while to talk aloud. Even if he spoke only to himself.

"Worry, and fear," the ghost mused to himself all the while shifting his age from child, adult, to old man.

He closed his eyes with purpose for a fleeting moment, the feeling of cutting off a sense being odd and yet insignificant.

It had been a long time since Clockwork had experienced emotions such as fear, worry, and concern.

Sure, he felt protective of Danny, but he had always known the outcome of things. That he had nothing to worry about, that Danny would always be safe so long as he was there to pull a few strings. As long as time existed, so would he.

That was what had made Clockwork an errand boy to the Observant council. A debt for stepping out of line to assist a child. Being an Ancient, his over protectiveness of Danny not only upset the Observants off, but it went against the common behavior of the Ancients. Clockwork knew that whispers of ulterior motives were common towards his bond with Danny.

Danny's safety and upraising had almost become an obsession to Clockwork, and he himself didn't like it, even more then the Observants and his fellow Ancients combined. As beings forged by the unknown forces of the ghost-zone, the Ancients had no obsessions, just godlike powers far superior then most ghosts could ever dream of. Powers for the purpose of doing the ghost-zones will. Whatever that was, many of the Ancients had lost touch with the ghost-zone, and thus they lost touch with their purpose.

Clockwork sighed, "The things I will do, for an old friend..."

* * *

><p>-I figure that if any DP character was an Ancient, Clockwork would foot that bill.<p>

SO. SHORT. Sorry, but now exams (and school in general) are all done for. My parents are making me take the SAT's, and we're going to a week-long festival. We take off next Saturday, I think. No promises on length this month guys; June's a busy month! My birthday's coming up soon, and some friends of ours are expecting their first child any day now!

PLEASE REVIEW, and leave costume suggestions for Sam, and Tucker. I need lots of suggestions. Not just a concept (like Goth princess, or mad scientist) but a character from movie, book, etc, that goes along with Sam and Tucker's basic aspects. I think it will be fun!

On a funny note, yes, I actually went back and watched a few DP episodes specifically to see if Clockwork blinks. As a matter of fact, he does not. He can close his eyes, but he does not blink. Everyone else does. I assume that, being the ghost of time; if he does blink, he just does it too fast for anyone to notice. Haha!

…I'm also setting things up for the next book (If there's going to be one.)

But until then, I'll still see you Sunday!


	11. Progression

Hey guys! Thank you for submitting your costume ideas, they will be revealed in chapter #12, which (and I am so sorry) will have to wait another week. It was hard to get this one done, and we're just packing up the RV. We leave Sunday, and get back home on Monday. I'm just going to be too busy, and I don't want to disappoint you guys, or my family at the festival. I have to work crafts with my Mom, among other things.

So formally, there will be no update next week. On the upside, this story will be complete within five more chapters.

I don't own DP.

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Plans and Progression.<p>

(POV: of Danny Phantom.)

I transformed again, and waited for Sam to get ready. I took the time to browse between her various posters and CD's.

"I'm ready," Sam said.

I flinched back into reality, "Okay, let's go."

Cue, one awkward minute of Sam and me, trying to figure out how to hold on to each other during the flight. Finally, I settled for holding her waist, while she hung her right arm over my shoulders. I don't know why the both of us got so confused at that moment. We're usually just fine.

"Ready?" I asked one more time.

"Yeah, but shouldn't we be invisible?" Sam asked.

I blinked, "Oh, yeah, that's right. We should." I turned the both of use invisible and hovered off the ground for a second, "You feel alright?"

Sam paused, "I still feel a little tingly like this, but I'm good."

I nodded, then realized that she couldn't see me, "Alright then, here we go!"

The sensation of flying is like no other. It feels a little odd flying with Sam while not being able to see her very clearly. Her and I appear as a slight haze, soaring over Amity Park. It would take a highly trained eye to spot us now.

"You alright so far?" I asked Sam.

"Yes!" She replied a kind of loudly. I forget that I can't hear the wind blowing as much as she does. The wind seems to almost blow through me, when I fly.

"Good!" I reply back, just as loudly.

The park came into view soon, even though it took longer then I anticipated. I expected that Tuck would still be a while.

The park is quite large, and of course green. I recalled my battle with Vortex and Undergrowth, and was pleasantly surprised that most everything had grown back. It was afternoon, and the temperature had cooled down. Kids were running around on the playground under the watchful eyes of their parents. We used to spend our Saturday's like that when we were little.

We flew past all that, and towards the far end of the park. It sits against the city boarders, so only a few acres of woods are still park territory. It's a very unoccupied place to visit, and always has been.

We landed behind a few rows of trees, and I dove under the bushes to transform for good measure. We, were then visible. We walked a short ways to our usual meeting place. A pair of tree's easy to climb into, and a large rock that two people can sit comfortably on.

Sam took the tree, "I miss hanging out here. We used to come out here all the time."

"Yeah," I agreed. It was relaxing, and sometimes hard to recall the times before I became Phantom.

Sam settled into a crook on one of the larger branches, I leaned up against the trunk beneath her. We didn't talk for a moment, since Tucker wasn't there. It was nice to have some peace and quiet. The trees broke the wind down to a comfortable level, just so that it was hard to hear, or be heard.

After a moment, Sam pulled out her phone and sent a text, I assumed, to Tucker. A minute later she got a reply, and her brow furrowed.

"What is it?" I asked.

She looked at me funny, "He says that he'll be a minute because he needed grab something he wants to show us."

I thought for a second, "Some kind of technology bit? Come on, he knows you and I don't get that stuff."

Sam shrugged, "How should I know? He takes a lot of pride in his gadgetry."

I nodded. There's been more then one occasion when Tucker's tech skills have saved us. Not to mention the few modifications he makes now and again to Fenton equipment. Say, programming my parents missiles to misfire when targeted at me.

We waited for a few more minutes, and enjoyed the peace. Until the loud sound of Tuckers hiking boots thumped nearby.

Sam sighed, "Would it kill him to learn to be more quiet in those things?"

I laughed, "With as loud as you are in your boots, you shouldn't complain."

Sam gave me a knowing smirk. Tucker came through the bushes, "Hey guys! Thanks for waiting."

"No problem," Sam said from her perch, "Danny only had some important things to talk about."

I had forgotten all about talking. I just wanted to tell them about what I learned in training.

"Oh right," Tucker looked at me, "What did you want to talk about?"

I leaned harder into the tree, "Training. I think Pele's probably got everything figured out by now, but I guess I'm not the typical case. Apparently, I can only use my fire-core, if I use my wind-core with it. I managed to do that, actually."

Tucker blinked. He and Sam weren't there when I accidentally shot flames from my hand, so they needed a little bit more.

"I just need to keep moving, if I want to create fire. I'll show you, once I get the hang of it."

Sam grabbed my attention from above, "Why is this taking so long anyway? It took you how long to get your cold-core down?"

I recalled that day, "Five hours or so, just to learn the basics. I really don't know why Fire's so hard for me."

"Aggression?" Tucker guessed. Sam and I waited for him to continue. He sighed and gathered his thoughts, "You blow cold air all the time, and that's really easy for you. Fire, well, they don't say 'fiery-temper' for nothing. Look at Pele, she's quick to snap at you, and she could care less if you fought her, or not. It's all the same to her. Danny, you're just, not mean or aggressive at all."

Sam and I digested Tucker's observation for a moment.

"You've become like Jazz, Tucker," Sam commented.

I walked up to Tucker and shook his hand, "Been nice knowing you, Tuck."

We laughed it off, "Really though," I began, "Tuck does have a point. The first time I used fire, I was fighting Vortex. Let's just say, I was not happy with him at all. The second time, Pele had me so frustrated. Usually, I don't think I'm like that."

Sam and Tucker snorted, "No. Of course not, Danny," Tuck said with earnest.

"Anyway," I began, "Pele and I are going to train all day tomorrow, too. She promised that she'd go easy on me during school days, but she still wants an hour at least, every day."

Tuck moaned, "If there was one bit of jealousy towards you left in me, it's long gone now."

Sam laughed, "Speaking of you, Tuck. What was it you kept us waiting for?"

Tucker smiled and grabbed his backpack, "This…"

* * *

><p>(POV: of Shelly Makamoto)<p>

"Oh, MaaacccKKKKK! Mac! MAC, where are you?"

"Hiding from you!" Mac shouted from somewhere.

I stormed down the hall. My super-high-heels clicked with purpose, "Mac! Derik wants to speak with us! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Mac poked his head from underneath someone's desk, "Promise, that you're not angry?"

"Promise," I said, then clearly crossed my fingers.

Mac groaned, but came out and scurried past me, and towards our boss' office. Mac had been enjoying his freedom. He was completely healed, and had even gotten stronger then before. I was angry at him, because he'd decided that he would put his new found physical freedom to practice…on several people's lunches…

Yes, since Mac's strength and stealth had returned, he swapped lunches without permission, prank called, and left various secret admirer letters around random desks. One of which, he tricked me with. I was not happy, about that conversation I started with the cutie from cubicle seven.

Me made our way to Derik's office, and stepped inside. We sat down in the two chairs adjacent to Derik's office, and waited for said boss to meet us.

After a minute, Derik came in with a smile, and headed for his desk. He sat down, and a particular loud, unpleasant, but funny sound, emitted from his rear-end.

Derik pulled a Whoopee Cushion from underneath his rump. Mac laughed and exclaimed, "Got you!"

See what I mean?

* * *

><p>Well, that's it for today. Hopefully, I can make it up to you. Sorry that I have to skip a week.<p>

Still though, I'll see you Sunday!


	12. Suit Up

BEWARE! I'm throwing a lot in this chapter at once, just some action. I really needed some Team Phantom in this story. Tucker's new gear will be important if I go for another book. This is LONG so there may be an increase in errors, feel free to point out any problem areas.

I don't own DP.

* * *

><p>Chapter #13: Suit Up.<p>

(POV: Shelly Makamoto.)

Derik threw the Whoopee cushion at Mac, who caught it with a giggle.

"Well, it's a good thing that you have plenty of energy, Mac. Cause the Halloween festival is only two short days away," Mac said.

"We haven't forgotten," I assured him.

"Good. I just wanted to brush you guys up on a few new things then. After the invasion, not only is Amity front-page news again, but also, the hype about the festival has exploded."

"Meaning?" Mac asked impatiently.

Derik grumbled, "This means, that the festival has gone far beyond a local ordeal. People are coming to Amity Park, from across the states, to spend Halloween in the most haunted city in the nation. We just officially passed up Salem in terms of paranormal activity. Teams of paranormal investigators are migrating here on various known haunted locations to investigate. In other words, Amity Park's spooks are common on a global news scale, and regular on a national level. I'm depending on you guys to get good coverage of the festival. It's an important piece of the massive deal, this has turned into."

Mac blinked, "So. Do not mess this up. Got it."

"That's one way to put it," I said.

"I mean it Mac," Derik said sternly, "This is a really big deal to the station. This is a big deal to Amity Park, altogether. With all the recent damage, our economy could use the extra boost from tourism. I heard that the tour business is getting ready for a special midnight tour of Amity Parks most haunted buildings."

"Wow, hopefully this will all turn out alright," I said.

"Yeah," Mac said, "It'd be nice to have a nice exciting event without any more damage."

"You're dreaming, Mac," I said with honest belief.

* * *

><p>(POV: Danny Fenton.)<p>

"What the heck is that thing, Tuck?" I asked.

Tucker had pulled three, bulky, heavy looking items from his backpack; a helmet, and two oval-looking things, which he wore on his hands.

Sam and I stared in utter amusement, "You look ridiculous, Tucker," Sam said in a bored tone.

"I know," he said, "But this is only the first part!"

Tucker babbled into the helmet; it wasn't odd for him to talk to technology. A few spots on the odd metal started glowing, and shifting. The helmet adjusted its shape, as the gloves unfolded and spread across his arms, and torso. The rest of the mechanisms reacted and covered his legs in smooth plates, and an odd, chain-mail looking cloth. It stopped abruptly at his ankles.

We were both utterly speechless. Tucker waited anxiously for our reactions.

"What the heck, Tuck?" I finally asked.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"I think you look totally strange," Sam commented, "And I'm Goth."

Tucker smiled, "I've been working on this for half a year! It's based off of the Fenton-Peeler structure and a few of Skulker's armors. I managed to sync my PDA to my old PDA, that's still on Skulker's armor. I've got the blueprints on everything he's ever done with his armor since we first battled him, but I've made too many changes to count!"

"Like the part where the armor has no shoes?" I asked bluntly.

Tucker's smile grew, "That's one of the best parts!"

He lifted one of his chain-mail-looking pant legs to show us his hiking boot. Only, once I had a good look, it appeared to be very different.

Tucker babbled into his helmet again. The boots quickly changed color, to match the various silver colors of the suit.

"It camouflages! I can make this suit turn into any color I want."

"That's wonderful." Sam said, "You'll be totally invisible in a heavy, loud, clunky metal suit. Right, Danny?"

"I can hardly see you at all right now," I replied in an equally hilarious tone.

"Oh come on, guys! Don't you get it? If I'm flying through the air, I can match the sky. If I'm in a forest, I can turn a perfect camouflage! Or…"

Tucker said, "Ca-mode: Ghost," directly into the microphone. The suit changed colors into streaks of white and black, a white capitol 'P' with an extended top line appeared on his chest-plate, forming a 'T' and 'P' hybrid letter.

"I can be in open battle, as a member of Team Phantom."

…

Sam and I just stared for a moment.

"That, is awesome," I said.

Sam gave me a funny look, "Am I the only one concerned about the idea of Tucker going into battle, with a big suit that will attract _a lot_ of attention from ghosts."

My mind raced. Sam was right. Anything that resembled me usually became an important target to ghosts. They hated me, and when they couldn't beat me, they took it out on the next thing. If that thing happened to resemble me, they were that much more violent.

"Sam has a point, Tucker. We don't know how well you'll do, if this suit even works at all-"

I didn't get to finish. My ghost sense burst out of my mouth before I could.

"Well then, we'll have to give it the old try!"

I smiled, and then doubled over. The wind was knocked out of me, and I spewed white-hot flames from my mouth. The flames tickled the ground, and set a small patch of twigs ablaze. Sam screamed, and pulled me away. Tucker walked up to the flames and stomped on them with his big boots. Interestingly enough, he had no problem moving like that in the suit.

Sam kept me from falling, "Stay with me Danny," she said.

I hesitated to stand up. When I did, Tucker and Sam were giving me very worried looks.

"Are you okay, Dude?" Tucker asked.

"What was that, Danny?" Sam asked. Worry sunk into her usually calm tone.

"I- I don't know, guys. That just, oh my gosh! I forgot, there's still a ghost on the loose."

Tucker accepted the change in subject, "Let's go get'em," he said, as a dark visor slid down his helmet, effectively covering his face entirely.

I looked at Sam. She held a slightly worried expression.

"I'll take care of him," I tried to assure her.

"You do that," she replied.

I transformed, and adjusted to the feeling of my fire-core. _It's like this thing actually wants to fight. _Then took off and hovered about ten feet in the air. Tucker looked up at me, I assume he was smiling. There was a mild hum, and two boosters came to life on his feet, forearms, and back. He took off at a good rate and hovered up with me at an even level.

I gaped for a second, "Careful T, don't want to scare the ghosts away, now do we?"

"Right," Tucker said in a slightly modified voice, which was probably so, to make his person harder to identify.

I smiled; there was enough room in the sky for the both of us.

"Watch out!" Sam shouted from below us.

Tucker and I looked around just in time to dodge a missile. To my horror, it was a target missile, but it hadn't locked onto me. It had gone after Tucker instead.

I shouted out to him to keep flying. He did, and sped up once he gained a steady path.

_"It's okay, dude. I got this one,"_ Tucker said. Tucker said? I couldn't stop the urge to rub my temples. It was like Tucker was in my head. I made a note to ask him about it later.

Meanwhile, I turned to Sam, "Did you see where that thing came from?"

Sam pointed to my left, and wove my thermos in the air, "Forget something?" She asked.

I flew down to her and took the thermos, "Thanks." Then, I went after Tucker.

I caught up with him pretty quickly. I'm much faster then anything with as much physical mass, as Tucker or the missile had. It was a piece of cake, really. Then tried to get a good look and the missile. Sometimes it's better to blow them up, and sometimes it's better to freeze them. I thought that I could tell the difference, but I couldn't place the better option. The missile was getting closer to Tucker by the second, so if I made the wrong decision, I could've still blown him out of the sky.

Dumbfounded, I hesitated. Tucker's voice rang through my head again, _"Danny! Freeze it!"_

With no time to shake off the weird sensation, I set my jaw, and fired two ice-beams. At least, I thought that was what I was going to do. Instead, two roaring masses of fire shot from my hands, and headed towards Tucker, and the missile.

Tucker's boosters all shut off, except for the one's on his back. He put those at full thrust, and shot downwards like a hawk.

The heat-seeking missile, however, decided that my fire was a better target. So, it turned straight into the inferno, and exploded.

The blast his me face on. I fell from the sky and landed in the trees. The branches broke under my force, until I hit the ground.

I got up right away, and searched the skies for Tucker. Sam called out to me, and soon came into the patch of trees where I landed. She looked up at the damaged branched with distaste, but she didn't say a word about them.

"Are you alright, Danny?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was nothing."

Sam gave me a relieved smile, which quickly turned evil, "Then you are in SO MUCH TROUBLE! What the heck were you thinking, shooting flames at Tucker like that?"

A few seconds later, we heard the sound of Tucker's boosters headed in our direction. He appeared above the trees, and straightened up. He descended slowly, and barely made a sound when he touched ground.

"That was a good test run," he said.

Sam and I tensed, "WHAT?"

Tucker flinched, "What, "what?" Did you think I was going to test this thing without Danny around?"

Sam clinched her fists, "How did you even manage that, if you've never flown in that thing before?"

Tucker talked into his helmet, "Auto-pilot: Off."

Sam just stared.

Tucker turned to me, "Really, Danny? I thought I told you to "freeze" the rocket, not spew flames like a World War II flamethrower."

"I don't know, guys. It just happened, I'll work on it okay?"

They both nodded; Tucker more willingly then Sam.

I sighed, "Alright, I've got a ghost to catch. Tucker you stay here. Sam, please make sure that he does."

"You got it," she said. Then her phone went off.

I checked my thermos, then flew up through the trees, and right into Dani. Literally.

We crashed back down through the trees and landed on the ground. I hit the ground, and Dani hit me. We shoved each other around, uttering demeaning phrases like, "you watch it," and "no, YOU watch it."

Two of the most powerful, famous, and infamous ghosts in all of modern-day history, and we were taken out by a sorry take-off.

Either way, we managed to untangle our limbs and stand up.

"Danny, watch where you're going!"

"Dani, watch where you're floating! I could've broken you in half!"

She huffed, "I doubt it."

"Why are you even here?" I asked with less agitation.

Dani looked at me as if I'd grown a third head, "Are you serious? I just, no, half of this whole CITY just saw a massive wall of fire erupt over Jackson Park!" She pointed through the trees, and over a hill, "As we speak, we've got Firefighters, GiW, AP-PD, and several news crews, headed towards us!" She held up he thermos and dangled it by it's strap, "Was Skulker really worth all that?"

She turned to Tucker; "And what the heck are you wearing?"

Tucker flinched, "Please leave me out of this."

Sam ran over to me, "Whatever, Dani. You can be mad later, now we need to get going, or"-

Sam didn't get to finish; a loud humming interrupted her. Dani blinked, and wore an expression that meant she was looking for the source with her Aura-sense. She blinked, and then went pale.

She grabbed Sam who couldn't force her away, "We've got to get out of here NOW!" Dani shouted. She turned herself intangible along with Sam, and flew above the trees, and out of the park.

I tried to pick Tucker up but he was too cumbersome for me. By the time he was ready for takeoff, I was sweating like crazy. I had never seen Dani so panicked, and I didn't want to face whatever had made her that way, to be honest.

"Just go without me dude," Tucker said.

"You just focus on taking off, Tuck," I replied.

Dani came back for us, "Hurry!" she shouted.

"We're coming!" I hollered back.

Tucker's boosters lifted him off of the ground and into the sky, but he didn't appear to have good control, so Dani grabbed him by his back-plate and directed him towards wherever she left Sam.

I took off not a second later, but that was just enough time.

Dani and Tucker were flying about ten feet in front of me, when they crossed a certain point, that half a second later had a wall. A ghost-shield.

I spotted the ghost-shield as it formed just soon enough to slow down and bank right.

Dani immediately turned around and faced me.

I clenched my fists, "I'll be there in a minute! I can't get through like this!"

She nodded, and flew Tucker away. I assumed that she'd be back anyway.

The humming that he had heard, turned out to be the ghost-shield warming up. At that point, the shield became completely quiet, save for the occasional whirr of noise.

I landed on the ground. I intended to turn human, walk through the shield, go-ghost, and fly off.

When I tried, I got a shock, and nothing happened. I panicked, "Why won't it work, why won't it work!"

I tried a few more times, and had no new results. Just the same shock, that left me feeling just a little bit more tired then before.

Dani came back and peeked her head through the bushes, "Danny! The Guys in White are headed right for you! Run, and don't try to morph again until the shield is down. I'll get Tucker right on it."

I nodded.

"Danny? Please be careful…"

"I will be."

Dani took off. I could hear the sound of GiW engines and a few men shouting. I gulped, and then I took off on foot through the trees.

My sharp ears could hear shouts of, "Which ghost is it?" "You got a location yet?" "It's fighting the shield, do you think it's powering up or down?" "Did it get passed the shield?" And, "It's a new ghost?"

To my ears, it sounded as if that last one was a question, but what new ghost was around? I would've detected a new ghost, and they couldn't have meant Dani.

_"Danny!" _Tucker's voice came ringing in my head. "_Listen, you're surrounded by one massive shield, that's powered by six separate generators, at six different points around the shield. Lay low, until we destroy enough to shut the shield down."_

I nodded, since I didn't know how else to respond.

_"Hang in there Danny, we'll got you out!" _

I slid underneath a few bushes, and came to a clearing in the trees. I could see the main open field of Jackson Park, and all its current inhabitants. Then I got nervous, check that, scared. I got really scared.

A series of tanks, trucks carrying GiW agents, and a few helicopters were in or around the field. Three GiW agents came running in my direction.

One of the agents stepped in a puddle, and babbled about a, "cleanliness-breech." The other agents turned around to face him, which gave me enough time to scramble out of the bushes…

And right into another GiW agent.

He stumbled back and landed on his rump, "You!" He shouted.

I lunged forward and hit him with a right-hook. He colapsed to the ground, unconscious. I quickly grabbed him and shoved him under the bush, which I had hidden in.

"Sorry about that," I whispered, before I took off running again.

The shield had pretty much surrounded the park. The wooded area of the park had been cut in half, so I was left with very little room to run.

Basically, all I could do was run, hide, and hope that Team Phantom would pull through. I heard the rumbling sound of tanks as they approached closer to the tree line…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Sam Manson.)<p>

I was beyond mad when Dani grabbed me, flew me off, dropped me off, and then left me. On top of that, she disappeared for a few minutes, and then came back with Tucker in that crazy suit.

To add to my growing anger, he and Dani almost completely ignored me.

Tucker babbled into his helmet. Dani searched around with her Aura-sense, I could tell she was by the expression on her face.

"I think the shield is being supported by six generators," she squinted, "Danny would be able to see more, all I can see are energy sources. Not shapes or objects." She seamed a little disappointed that she couldn't come up with more.

"Danny is still in there?"

"Yes, he is," Dani said. Her Aura-sense often made her prone to answer questions impulsively.

"Where's the closest source?" I asked.

"About a quarter mile that way," she said, and absentmindedly waved her hand towards her left.

"Thanks," I said, then took off at a run.

"Sam, wait!" Tucker called out to me, "What are you doing?"

"I'm shutting the shield down, duh!"

They didn't come after me, so I kept on running. I was there in about a minute, since the grass was so easy for me to run on.

I took cover behind some trees. The generator was in a cargo truck, guarded by two agents. There was a large antenna that protruded form the roof, that shot a beam into the shield.

I crawled down to a hiking trail, and hid in the brush. The truck had been driven up an old dirt road, too far up for them to send help at a moments notice.

"Perfect…" I said quietly. "Now what?"

I mulled that over for a moment. Then I picked up a rock and tossed it in my hand. I knew that every second counted for Danny. So, I threw the rock a ways away from me to my left. It hit brushes and twigs, and made a great big deal of noise.

"What was that?" One of the agents asked.

"I don't know, let's check it out."

With that, they both ran off towards the spot where I hid the rock. I sat there for a moment; I hadn't expected both of them to run off like that. Just one.

I face-palmed, _this is the GiW, Sam. Did you expect a crew that beats the A-TEAM?_

I ran to the truck, and jumped into the drivers seat. There were no control panels there, so I jumped back out and ran to the back of the truck. Nothing was there either.

"Darn it, who's running this joint?"

I ran around to the broadside of the truck, where there were some massive ecto-weapons sitting on the ground.

There, I face-palmed again, "Why am I NOT surprised?"

I picked up one of the bazookas and dashed twenty-five yards away from the dumb truck. I turned around, and pointed the barrel at the hunk-of-junk.

"Take this, you waist of space!" I fired, and made a direct hit.

The truck exploded in a massive fireball. The shield wavered for a moment, before coming back just a little bit weaker.

"Yikes," I said to myself.

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny Phantom.)<p>

I was dodging through the woods, when I heard an explosion barely thirty yards to my left.

"What the heck, they've got missiles now?" I couldn't stop myself from shouting.

I ran off again, too afraid to fly and risk creating an energy output that they could detect. I came to the edge of the shield, which glowed a pale green.

"Sam?"

"Danny?"

We locked eyes for a moment, she was crouched and she held a large weapon.

"You should run," She told me.

My ears picked up on agents nearby, "Right, and you should hide."

"Right," she said. Then we parted ways.

* * *

><p>(Narrator.)<p>

At the sound of the explosion, the two agents ran back to their assigned vehicle as fast at there legs could carry them. They could care less about the state of their uniforms, at that point.

They arrived as the pieces of the truck in question were falling down out of the sky, all up in smoke.

The first agent turned to his partner, "Do you think anyone will notice?"

The second agent blanched, "Of course they will!"

The first agent glanced around nervously, "Okay then, lets get out stories straight. There were ten of them, and they had laser cannons…"

* * *

><p>Had to add that last bit, haha!<p>

I've got my costume theme all settled out for Sam and Tucker. You still have to wait!

So festival is over, my aunt went into surgery… She's fine, and the surgery was without a flaw, she was in a lot better shape then we first thought to begin with. In the meantime, I'll be staying over at my Grandma's to keep an eye on her while my aunt recovers. I like hanging out with my Grandma anyway, it's very calm here compared to my place. :)

Finally, happy 15th b-day to me! Yep, this very Sunday is my big day! I feel old enough as it is!

...

Will Danny escape the GiW? Will Team Phantom get the ghost-shield down on time? Will Tucker's suit ever come in handy?

Tune in next week for the completion of: The-writer-felt-the-story-needed-some-action-and-on-a-last-minute-impulse-threw-in-the-suit-because-she-wouldn't-have-a-better-chance-to-do-so-in-the-future!

See you next Sunday!


	13. Team Phantom to the Rescue!

I don't own DP, or the character concept for Tucker's costume. ;)

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Team Phantom to the Rescue!<p>

(POV: Of Danny Phantom.)

I came to the very edge of the tree line and slid underneath the brush. I carefully peeked through the bushes, and at the approaching tank.

The GiW had spread out to find me. Only, they still didn't know what they were looking for, so their forces had been spread thin. I faced one white tank, which probably had three or four agents inside.

I glanced up at the green-tinted shield in the sky. I really hated being under that thing. It was just so different then any shield I had ever been trapped in.

The Fenton Ghost-Shields acted like walls, and sometimes could be made to be invisible. That thing the GiW had set up…was something else. It wasn't like plain walls surrounded me; it was more like I was in a snow globe. Like the space inside the globe was filled with water, and made different then the space outside the globe.

I thought the affects of the shield were: an inability to turn human, a restriction on my ability to use my cores, and a restriction on my ghost-sense.

How do I know about that third one?

When I was hiding underneath the bushes, I couldn't shake a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and at the back of my mind. I glanced between the tank and the bushes. I wasn't sure why, something was missing. Or maybe, it was that something was there?

The Tank-hatch popped open and three agents jumped out. They turned around and shouted to the tank. Another agent popped out from his waist up, and held out an antenna-looking thing.

"Any sign of anything?" One of the agents asked.

"No. Wait!" He adjusted the antenna and kept his gaze on a handheld screen. "I think I got something dead ahead in the trees!"

My heart sank. The three agents came towards me with brandished weapons. I tried to scurry back into the trees for cover, but my legs got tangled up in some roots.

I hurled around, but the roots tightened and grew. They grew?

I turned back over to my stomach, the leaves on the ground in front of me started to rustle and shake violently. Something sprouted out of the bushes.

"I am regenerated!" Undergrowth shouted.

"Good," I said. Undergrowth gave me a confused look, "You can take the fall this time."

I shoved Undergrowth's small form into the ground and merged my legs into my ghost-tail long enough to slip out of the vines. Then I stood up, and sprinted a full ten yards deeper into the trees, and another fifteen to the left. Then I backtracked to the edge of the tree line again.

I looked to my right, back to where Undergrowth had sprouted up and the GiW agents were racing to.

Undergrowth was ragged, and he didn't look like he would ever be the same again. Anyway, when the agents reached the tree line, Undergrowth sprung out and attacked all three of them.

I couldn't help but snicker. Undergrowth was far too weak to bring them any harm. It was just nice to see three GiW agents tripping and bumbling around.

I gave the agents one last glance, "Good luck: Larry, Curly, and Moe." I said out loud.

While the hippies danced with plants, I took the distraction and darted for the tank. Probably not the smartest idea, but I wasn't dealing with the smartest people.

Funny thing about that, actually. When I'm in my ghost form, my regular human strength is a baseline, but because the changes the Fenton-Portal made on a molecular level, my human strength tripled in a year.

Take that strength, and the fact that while I'm in ghost-mode I only weigh about ninety pounds, and I can pull off some pretty awesome stunts.

I took one last weary glance behind me, and ran full speed towards the tank. At about ten-yards away, I jumped far, and high. Enough to cover the ten yards, and climb just high enough to land on the tank's hatch.

The muffled 'thump' was probably magnified inside the tank. I figured that I didn't have much time before someone reacted, so I hung off to the side and waited for the solo agent to open the hatch for me.

For once the GiW didn't let me down. The hatch popped open, and the agent popped his head out. He turned around to face me, just soon enough to meet my fist. He was knocked out, but I didn't let him fall. To keep injuries to a minimum, I grabbed his shirt collar and lowered him into the tank. Then I followed down the ladder.

The tank was fairly cramped, but just right for a guy my size. I found the set of pedals and sat down.

"So, it's trial and error for me," I said. "At least it's not a stick."

* * *

><p>(POV: of Dani Phantom.)<p>

Tucker and I both planned to take out one generator each. I took off after one of the farther ones, and tried to think of something.

I could just blast it to bits, but that might endanger the surrounding agents. At least, I assumed that even the GiW wouldn't leave their precious vehicles unguarded.

When I came to the scene of the generator, I found that six GiW agents surrounded the truck. They stood about ten yards away from the truck, and only at the angles where the shield wasn't up against the truck.

I double-checked with my aura-sense to make sure no one was in the truck. With that in mind, I knew that I still couldn't blow the whole thing up. Shield-generators always tended to create massive explosions if the right set of mechanics went wrong.

But that could only happen if I blasted it. I had something completely different in mind.

I turned invisible and flew two hundred feet into the air. Then I leveled out and floated in the air to concentrate. I checked one more time for the presence of anyone in the truck. When there was no one, I spread my arms out, and concentrated.

I let my hands down, and pointed them palm-face down toward the ground below me. Then, I put out just enough energy to make a small shield. Because the truck was put so closely against the shield, I adjusted my shield to make the shape of an oval instead of a circle.

I took one last deep breath, and reminded myself not to panic, despite whatever was on the line.

While up there, I couldn't help but get angry at the thought of Danny at risk of the GiW. With a shout, I took off towards the ground in a dive. My shield shimmered in the sunlight, and sparks erupted on the surface. I assumed it was from flying through the air so fast.

I reached just over a hundred miles-per-hour when my shield crashed into the truck. The force of the impact flattened the truck, and put it three feet into the ground.

When my shield stopped completely, the space between me and my shield turned to mere inches in a second. I did a handstand on the shield and bent my elbows to slow myself down. Then, I pushed up hard enough to lift myself off of the ground.

I flipped through the air twice, and landed hard. I had to collapse onto one knee to compensate for my off-balance.

The agents screamed. The blasts had knocked them flat on their faces, and they were still trying to figure out wheat the heck had happened.

I would've taken off, but one of the agents had recovered sooner then I expected, and had started shooting at me.

"Phantom Punk!" He shouted at me, his voice sounded familiar.

I dodged the excessively powerful and well-aimed blasts. I turned around to face him. After all the excitement, my shoulders felt compressed, and my feet stung. I just wanted to lie down for a moment, but the agent wouldn't give me a inch.

The next thing I knew, two more agents had recovered and stared shooting at me.

I tried to fly away, but they thwarted me at every turn, "Just what is your problem?" I asked. Then I got a good look at the agents: Agents O, K, and Agent C.

_Oh, boy._

* * *

><p>(POV change: Tucker Foley.)<p>

I took off through the air to destroy one of the generators myself. Though what I had learned after Dani departed, had scared me.

I had miscalculated. We actually needed to take down four of the five generators out, instead of only three. The five trucks were needed to place a barrier for the shield, but at that point, you only needed two to actually maintain the shield. If we destroyed four, then the fifth would overload because of the strain.

So we had to destroy, or disengage four of them…

I leveled off and glided though the air. My helmet beeped so I gave it permission to show me what it had detected, and the tinted screen on my visor showed me a layout for Jackson Park. The five points where the generators were flashed once, then one of them vanished.

I smiled, "Nice work, Sam."

I changed my trajectory, and headed for the next generator. When I arrived, my helmet beeped again and showed me that a second generator had gone out. That was probably Dani, I figured.

_Two down, two to go. _With that in mind, I surveyed the situation.

The generator was placed inside a truck, which released energy into the ghost-shield via a satellite-looking thing on the roof.

Then I counted the agents, eight in total. I groaned. I couldn't take them all out by myself. I doubted that even Danny could've managed it.

I was stuck. In order to beat them, I had to outsmart them, and that wasn't usually my job. Usually I swopped in, worked my technologic magic, and let Danny beat the rest.

I fretted when I noticed one of the agents hop into the truck. That took away pretty much my last option, blowing the whole thing skyward. Besides, I didn't really have any weapons that I could trust at the moment.

The agent came back out of the truck with a large metal object in his hands. With it, he turned back to the truck and started messing with little knobs on the front of the remote.

Yes, the GiW had rigged their generators with remote control technology. I wasn't surprised, but I still wondered what their reasoning was. Maybe the type of shield they were working with was still fairly new to them. The shield did appear a little odd, call me crazy but it didn't sound like a regular shield. Maybe I was just thinking things…

I looked to my wrist and consulted Natasha, my PDA. No, I couldn't leave my precious PDA out of my whole project. Besides, PDA's are my best tool for hacking.

Speaking of hacking, I quickly found out that the remote control the agent was actually a pretty high tech computer, a computer that could be hacked.

So I did what I do best…only, I couldn't actually affect the satellite. All changes had to be made manually on the remote control panel.

I had to stop myself form screaming. I racked my brain for a minute for any possible way to help the situation.

Then something happened to make the agent restrict the flow of energy to the shield. The beam of energy stopped, and the agent turned the satellite straight up to the sky.

"We've got a fried circuit. Pop a new one in." A second agent complied.

"We're good, start her up again."

The agent who held the remote nodded, and began to work the controls. The satellite began to turn, and I could tell that the agent was prepared to start up the energy beam again.

So, I did the first thing that I could to, by use of my PDA's infiltration of the remote.

I drained the batteries.

The agent pressed him finger down on a small button, and nothing happened. The agent pressed down on it again, and again.

"What's wrong, J?" One of the agents shouted.

Agent J hit the remote, "I- I don't know!" He pressed a button located on the side, "Hey! The batteries are dead!"

I moaned. I had hoped that they wouldn't figure it out so fast.

Boy was I surprised when seven of the eight agents turned to one agent in particular, "Agent G? You did remember to get those D-batteries, didn't you?"

Agent G chuckled, and shrugged, "Whoopsie?"

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny Phantom.)<p>

I pressed a series of pedals that seemed to be correct, and drove the tank a full thirty miles-per-hour.

"I just hijacked a tank! WIN!" I shouted, and laughed like a kid in a candy store.

The other agents were probably still behind me, they wrestled with Undergrowth. I drove the tank to the other side of the park, to a spot that seemed to be void of the Guys in White. I must've done something wrong, because the hull of the tank started to fill up with smoke. Kind of like when you leave the emergency break on while driving in a car.

I took a chance, and popped open the hatch. Then when the coast was clear, I jumped out and ran to a patch of trees. The hatch I left open, so that the agent inside wouldn't suffocate.

A few other tanks started towards my general direction. They must've seen the smoke.

I was hidden by the trees, but some of the agents quickly came to search by there.

My ears picked up shouting, "Agent S-2 is in here! He say's he was hijacked!"

"Check the trees!" Someone else shouted.

I gulped, and ran. I came to face the shield in half a minute, where one of the generators was sitting on the other side. I could hear the agents as they approached me. I turned my back to the shield, and prepared to fight a battle, I really hadn't been looking forward to.

I took one more deep breath, when an explosion directly behind me pushed me flat on my face.

I tried to recover, when I was grabbed, picked up, and thrown backwards. The shield was finally down, as I was thrown a good fifty feet back past where it had been.

When I hit the ground, I tumbled a few times. Then when I managed to get up, I looked back to where I had been thrown.

Ten agents burst through the trees, many more on the way, to face Pele.

She stood with an air of confidence and preparation that I had never seen from her before. She didn't look back at me; she just took off above and past the agents, and into the sky. She hovered there for a moment while flames danced at her feet, and created a bowl-shape around her lower body.

The agents shouted into the headpieces, and brandished their guns. I heard various tanks firing, but Pele easily dodged the projectiles they fired.

Then she returned fire. I couldn't help but stare at her attacks. A simple swing of her arm, and a beam of red-hot light appeared, sprung out, and expanded the further out it went.

"Pele, don't!" I shouted.

The blast hit the ground with a loud 'bang' and I heard more shouting.

I took off into the air and looked over the park, no one had noticed me yet. Thankfully, Pele had only hit the ground. She didn't hit the people or the tanks. I took a double take at the damage. The ground she hit, had burst into flames, and then steadily grew outward. The agents quickly had them under control.

Still, the tanks kept shooting at Pele. She kept moving, but a luck-shot landed in her thigh. She curled over, and fell a little through the air, but soon recovered and turned around to strike back with revenge.

I snapped out of my stupor, "Pele, stop!" I shouted.

She turned to me, as if she hadn't heard me before. I took off full speed, and appeared as a blur to everyone on the ground. I hooked my arm around her waist and pulled her out of the park, and back to Fenton-works as quickly as I could.

Tucker contacted me in whatever way he was doing that, and I told him that we were okay…

* * *

><p>(POV: of Dani Phantom.)<p>

When the shield went down, the GiW were shocked, that gave me a few seconds to scramble out of there.

I flew higher and leveled out. I noticed Tucker flying about two hundred feet to my left, and after a minute, I noticed Sam on the ground, as she ran towards Fenton works.

Tucker gave me a nod in acknowledgement, so I dove down a picked up Sam.

"It's easily three miles, Sam. Don't push yourself so much."

Sam pulled her hair out of her face, "A little warning is always nice!"

I flinched, "Yeah, sorry about that."

We flew to Fenton works.

…

When we arrived, Danny was scrambling around the house in his human form.

"Guys! Where's Tucker?" Danny asked frantically.

"He has to come in through the OP center."

"Here I am!" Tucker said, and came down the stairs wearing regular clothes, his backpack in on his back.

Danny nodded, "Pele's hurt badly. That round went clean through her leg and she's loosing ectoplasm fast. Come on, she's down in the lab."

We ran down together, "Pele!" I shouted.

She was sitting on a table cradling her leg tightly.

"Pele?" I asked more quietly, "What should we do for you?"

Pele looked at me with tired, but determined eyes, "Just let me get some sun, and I'll be fine in an hour or two."

Sam ran up the stairs, and Tucker told me that he was going to work on his suit in the lab.

Danny face-palmed, "The sun! Duh!" He picked Pele up and transformed again, then took her up through the roof, and up to the OP center. He set he down near where we liked to stargaze together.

Pele turned her face to the sun, "It's not a volcano, but it's good enough."

Danny sat down next to her, "You sure you'll be okay?"

Pele nodded, "Danny, turn to the sun…"

Danny gave her a confused look, but complied. He shut his eye, and absentmindedly put his hand on his abdomen.

"Can you feel yourself recovering?" Pele asked.

"Yeah, I can," Danny said. "It's kind of strange."

"I'd imagine that the burning fire of the sun it better for you, as the molten-heat of the volcano is better for me, but either should do."

I couldn't help but check on Pele and Danny with my aura-sense. Danny gave me a look, but didn't protest.

Pele felt fine, a little unstable, but she was recovering just as she said she would.

Danny was a little different. I mean, his energy output was a lot stronger, and his cores seemed to resonate, not fight each other anymore. The color and the feel of his energy overall, felt a lot different. I told him that, and he gave me an odd look.

"There's no way my ecto-signature could change," Danny turned to Pele, "could it?"

Pele considered that, "I've known ghosts to change their very essence, according to their will. If your cores develop, then that would mean a difference is most definitely going to change your output. It just happened sooner then I would have expected."

Danny paused, "The GiW went on about me being a "new ghost," I guess that could explain that."

Pele nodded, "You don't have to wait up here with me."

"I know," Danny said, "and Pele? Thanks for saving me, by the way."

Sam popped up through the OP center trap door, "Hey guys, Tucker's shouting about something. He said he's bringing his suit up to show us whatever it is."

"Oh, boy," I said. "What the heck was with Tucker's get-up anyway?"

Pele gave me a questioning look, "What is this about Tucker getting up? Has he fallen?"

Danny and Sam snickered, "It's like she's Mr. Lancer!" Danny said.

We all laughed again, while Pele just looked confused.

The trap door opened again, "Hey guys! Check out the new camo setting I programmed."

"I'm fine…Just so you know, Tucker." Pele said.

Tucker stuttered, "Yeah, I'm glad you're feeling alright. You made quite a mess in the lab."

Pele gave him a warning look. "And to think that I was concerned about your fall."

Tucker paused, "Okay, then…"

Tucker put on his suit again, which took a whole minute and a half. Danny commented on how that needed to improve, and even the Fenton peeler only took about ten-seconds or so to fully activate.

The clunky looking armor unfolded brilliantly. I had never seen it activate before, so my jaw had dropped by the time the chainmail-looking material covered up Tuckers regular pant leggings.

"Amazing," I said.

"Is it trying to hurt him?" Pele asked.

Tucker waved his hand, "Ladies, ladies…you haven't seen anything yet." Tucker talked into his helmet again.

His suit responded by changing colors. We all stared for a moment. I must say, even though the structure was quite a bit off, it was still a pretty awesome idea.

"Dude!" Danny said, "You look like Iron Man!"

* * *

><p>And there you have it, you know what I don't own. Thanks to River the Hedgehog for the Iron Man suggestion!<p>

Boy, did this turn out to be a big chapter, or what? Ten pages in word! Thankfully, I didn't get burned out writing this big boy. Errors tend to be more common the longer the chapter is, so feel free to point them out if you catch them.

-I actually did leave Undergrowth in the park. He was never dealt with until this chapter.

Whew, hopefully I can keep


	14. Preparations

Yeah, I spent what? Four or five chapters on a Friday. Well, we're skipping Saturday, and quickly going to Sunday morning, October 30th the day of the Halloween festival!

I don't own DP.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Preparations.<p>

(POV: of Danny Fenton.)

Dani and I, sat on the couch and watched TV. Pele sat on the floor in front of us.

Dani grabbed the remote, "Well, I wonder what's on the news today?" She said with a hint of sarcasm.

I huffed. Sam and Tucker walked through the front door without knocking.

Pele jumped, "Would you two care to knock?" She asked.

"Why?" I asked. "Every time someone knocks, you bark and dart around the house." Pele huffed in discontent.

"I mean it Sam," Tucker said, "it would be perfect for you! Come on, at least give it a chance, please?"

"No, Tucker. I refuse. I decline. I will not. What answer will satisfy you?"

"None of those, so PLEASE just try it out?"

Pele growled from the floor, "There'd better be a good reason for your sleep-betraying bickering."

"It's nothing," Sam said.

Dani waved the remote, "Guys? You might want to watch this."

I turned to face the TV. Dani leaned on my shoulder and sighed.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"This will probably be the first time I'll be on the news…I've heard the things they say about you."

I chuckled a little, "Don't worry about it. They'll say whatever they'll say. Whatever keeps their ratings up."

Dani snuggled into my arm, and smiled up at me.

Sam sat down on the couch, and Tucker sat on the floor by Pele. He moved to pet her, then thought better of it.

"May I?" He asked her.

Pele hummed and nuzzled his hand, "behind the ears."

Dani turned the volume up, "Hello, and welcome to Ghost Watch. I'm Shelly Makamoto, bringing you the latest information on the news on Amity Parks spooks."

Shelly shuffled some papers on her desk, "As we all know, the Guys in White launched a massive capture-attempt towards a ghost, that at first impression, the GiW mistook for Danny Phantom, because of unusual high power levels."

"The Guys in White then found, after a series of unfortunate events, in which: their highly advanced shield was destroyed and another lesser ghost was discovered. They then were confronted by, "The Inferno Banshee," who controlled beams of fire so hot, that they set the dirt on fire and melted weapons."

Pele's head shot up.

"We have exclusive video of The Inferno Banshee, in action. Provided by our channel 4 news copter."

Pele's eye twitched, "What did she just call me?"

"Ignore it, Pele," I said. "They don't know that they're saying."

The screen cut to the helicopter camera. It showed Pele getting shot, and then it showed me, as nothing more then a black blur, as I snatched her out of the air.

They cut back to Shelly, "There appeared to be two entities in the air at that time, but neither has been I.D'd as neither ghost has ever been on record."

"Furthermore, the Guys in White did manage to get a power reading on The Inferno Banshee. She turned out to be about one-half times the power of Danny Phantom. That fact, compared with the recent property damage sustained to Jackson Park, all adds up to that major possibility that The Inferno Banshee is responsible for the destruction of Danny Phantom."

Pele hummed, "Not yet, TV mistress."

I tapped her with my shoe. She turned to me with a clear smirk on her doggie face.

Tucker stood up and headed for the kitchen, "So they really think that Danny Phantom is gone for good?" He asked on his ay out.

"Should I take a spin over the city? Just to let everyone know I'm okay?"

Sam frowned in thought, "Just flying won't cut it. It'll have to be something that no one can deny. A few sightings over the city won't be dramatic enough."

"Well, maybe a ghost will show up soon…"

Pele yawned, "In the meantime, shall we depart?"

Dani shot up, "Yes! Training! Come on, Danny, let's go!"

Dani grabbed me and dragged me down to the basement.

"Bye Sam, bye Tucker, let's go Pele!" She shouted

I heard Pele laughing from behind us. We all transformed, Dani and I into our Phantom forms, and Pele into her human form. Then we dove into the portal.

* * *

><p>(POV: of Shelly Makamoto.)<p>

"That was wonderful Shell," Mac said.

"I know," I said humorously. We laughed together and walked off the set.

Derik flagged us down, "Hey guys! Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I shrugged, "Sure. What do you need?"

Derik nodded, "I just wanted to thank you for all of your hard work."

"What do you want, and how soon do we have to get it done?" Mac said with a smile.

Derik glared a Mac, "All right. I just wanted to make sure that you guys remembered to get some kind of big story out of the festival. Even if it's some drunk guy who shouts too loud, I want some kind of big moment."

Mac laughed, "Sure thing, buddy. We'll get that "big moment" of yours, and we'll get it on film too!"

Derik shook his head, and managed a chuckled, "Whatever. See you guys on the air." That being said, Derik walked away.

I snapped, "Mac!" I hit him over his head. "That would've been rude to anyone! Where do you get off being cheeky with the boss?"

Mac sighed, "Brotherly love. I tease him, and there's not a thing he can do about it."

I sighed, but couldn't help but smile, "You're something else, Mac."

* * *

><p>(POV: of Danny Phantom.)<p>

I stumbled out of the portal and tossed my medallion across the room, back to Clockwork.

"And how was training?" He said in a semi sarcastic tone.

I gave him a sharp look. Pele and Dani popped out of the portal, all in giggles and smiles.

"Hi Danny," Danielle said knowingly.

"Nugh!" I said.

Dani stuck her tongue out at me, "I swear, sometimes you're such a child."

"Nugh!" I repeated.

Pele strutted past the three of us.

"And how are my charges behaving under your watch?"

Pele clenched her fists and turned around to face Clockwork, "Nugh!" she said.

My jaw dropped, "What is it with women?"

…

Dani and Pele flew ahead of me on our fly home.

I heard quips of, "oh, did you see the look on his face?" And, "I know, I know!" Was the phrase of the day.

Yeah, I wanted to forget about training…never have I been such a klutz. Wait…yeah; I've never been such a klutz…

I caught myself on fire, okay? Multiple times…

Anyway, we kept flying for a while. Pele and Dani were talking, so we went quite a bit slower then we usually did

…

After a painful hour of the girls non-stop talking, we finally came to the Fenton-portal, only to find that it was sealed from the basement side.

Dani turned to me, "Danny, why's the portal locked?"

I flew up to the portal and tried to open it myself.

"Oh crud. Mom and Dad are working on the portal's frame. They told me about it at breakfast, I forgot when then went to pick up parts!"

Dani frowned, "We're a three hour flight from anyone we know. Should we just wait it out? Or find another portal?"

Pele tapped me on my shoulder; "I can create a portal to Amity Park if it helps."

I paused, "You can do that?"

"Of course I can. With the Fenton portal's existence, I never thought to mention it. Besides, creating a portal in very tiring, but still very simply accomplished."

"Alright then, lets do this."

Pele started to form energy at the palm of her hands. "I can get us all to Amity Park, but I can't control exactly where the portal will open up. Amity Park's airspace is riddled with weak spots."

Dani and I nodded, "We're ready."

Pele nodded and separated her hands. A green portal expanded to about the size of a truck tire.

"One at a time, I'll go last," Pele, said. Her voice was a little strained.

Dani went through and Pele groaned. I paused.

"This is NOT easy Danny, but the faster you go, the less I'll hurt myself!"

I dove through the portal, but I stumbled, so Dani had to catch me. Pele jumped through a second later, and fell to the ground. I started to feel tired…really tired.

She gasped, "I forgot how hard it was to hold a portal for someone else."

Dani picked her up to support her, "How do you create a portal?"

Pele settled down a little, "My fire-core allows me to connect with this world," Pele relaxed and stood up straight, "Using that connection, I can create a tear in the atmosphere, thus I can get from to earth from the ghost realm, and I can get back to the ghost realm, through the same prospect."

Pele paused, as if she hadn't meant to go teacher-mode on us.

"Does that mean I could pull it off?" I asked.

"With time and a mature core," she said, "when you can actually feel the earth tied to your form, you'll be able to do it. Otherwise, trying might kill you. Now where are we?"

We all looked around, "Some alley." I looked up at the sky, "We're in Amity Park alright. Not too far from home, I think."

Something at the alley exit caught Dani's eye, "What's with all that get-up?"

I looked down the alleyway, "Oh my gosh, we're at the festival."

Pele swayed and nearly fainted, "I can't fly…I need rest…"

"You know what? So do I," I said.

Pele gave me a look, "Sorry. It's been too long since I last created a portal. I forgot how much energy it takes…and that it takes energy from other fire-cores when it can."

I understood my exhaustion then, "Ah," I said.

"Hey! What are you kids doing down there?"

The three of us started, "Oh, hello! Just…um, taking a break! My friends needed a rest."

I stared at the oddly dressed security guard. He wore a typical security outfit, but all in white.

"Well, you'd better get out here. We don't want anyone lurking in the shadows."

"Yes sir," Dani said politely.

With that, Dani grabbed our hands and practically pulled us out of the alley.

"Bye the way," the guard said with a cheery tone, "nice costumes."

I turned around, "Huh?" The security guard had already walked away.

Pele glanced around and smiled weakly, "This reminds me a little of the festivals of Hawaii…"

Dani patted her on her back, "You miss your home, don't you?"

Pele hesitated, "I miss my volcano. I can't fly, can we maybe walk through the festival for a while?"

Her voice sounded slightly pleading, "Why not?" I said.

"Nice costumes," Someone said.

I turned around, "Tucker?"

Tucker stood in his suit made out in the color patterns of Iron Man.

"Dude! What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You mean, what are WE doing here?" He said and moved aside, to reveal Sam in her costume.

"Don't ask. It was the only way to get him to stop begging."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tucker said in a mock-tone, "Marvel proudly presents, Iron Man and The Black Widow!"

Dani laughed, "It could've been worse, Sam."

Sam spared a smile, "Can't argue with that."

"Anyway," Tucker said. "Really, what are you guys doing out here?"

I gave a brief explanation of how we got back home.

"Man, Pele, you okay after that?" Tucker asked.

Pele seemed slightly irritated, "Yes. I only need some rest. After I walk around for a while, I'll be alright."

Sam shrugged, "Well, in this sea of costumes, you can all pass for humans. Granted, humans with incredibly accurate costumes."

I looked at Sam's costume more closely, "You know something, Sam? You might not be into dressing up for Halloween, but you really do pull off the theme of that costume really well."

Sam blushed, "You pull of the theme of your costume off pretty well, yourself."

Dani, Tucker, and Pele gave me looks, I shifted a little, "Thanks…"

Tucker scanned the vendors, "Ohhh, look Sam! Let's go check out that vendor!"

Sam tried to protest, but Tucker grabbed her with his robotic suit's hand, and pulled her away.

"Be careful!" She managed to shout back at us.

Dani and I waved, while Pele's attention was elsewhere. She looked around with renowned excitement, "Just like home, you celebrate your festivals by dressing so to please your gods."

Dani laughed, "Those are just costumes, Pele. Those are cartoon characters and ghosts they're dressing up as, not gods."

Pele's brow furrowed, "I don't understand. If they are not dressed as their idols, then why are they strolling around in your likeness?"

I paused, "What?" Pele gestured around, and I finally noticed that the vast majority of the costumes were in fact, Danny Phantom costumes. "Wow," I said. "They may be dressing like me, Pele, but that doesn't make me their god."

Dani made a noise in her throat. "That's just wrong," she said, "although, it might just make you their hero."

I smiled fondly at her considerate comment.

Pele considered the information, "So you are not their god, and they do not worship you?"

I laughed, "No, well, some might sort of."

Dani made the same noise in her throat again.

Pele nodded, "I'm relieved and thankful that the humans' standard for gods hasn't sunk so low."

I stuttered, "You just HAD to find a way to insult me, didn't you?"

Pele smiled. The green festival lights glistened in her eyes and made her look even snippier.

Dani laughed, "All right you two, stop your bickering and lets enjoy the festival."

Pele looked at Dani and smiled, "Yes Mother," she said mockingly.

Then, we broke conversation, and enjoyed the festival as a group…

* * *

><p>That's where I'll have to leave you for now. Next week, more Mac and Shelly!<p>

Until then, thanks for waiting another week, I hope you liked the chapter! See you Sunday!


	15. Friends and Fun

Hey guys! Today, we have a special guest, an OC from ChopSuzi's story, Rising Time. Tara Wilkins! Credit for the character goes to her, of course. Like I did with Pele, some of Tara's background will be different, but that's for another day.

Also, Andy's back for a chapter! You might remember him from chapter 11 of "A Stroll Through the Mall."

I don't own DP characters, or Tara.

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Friends and Fun.<p>

Pele dragged me to another food stand, Dani followed close behind.

"Danny, what is that food they are serving? I have seen you eat it before," Pele asked.

I read the sign, "Pizza." Pele paused and looked at me. "Do you want a slice?" I asked. Pele nodded, and dragged me to the end of the line.

Dani joined us, "Can I have a slice?" She asked.

I sighed, melodramatically, "Sure, why not?"

We'd been walking through the festival for about half and hour, and they'd already ordered food from four stands, played half a dozen games, and won three toys. Three of which; I was stuck carrying. I was also stuck paying for everything.

Thankfully, I always carry plenty of cash. I always do, in case I end up chasing a ghost far outside of Amity, and need clothes or a meal. Sam gives me the money, actually. Something about her having royalties to the DP logo, and likeness. When I asked her about it, she said, "I have great lawyers. Here's your cut, since you actually make it famous."

I think she was a little embarrassed, actually. She really did create my logo, though it took a while for her to admit it, and from the looks of the festival, Sam would be getting some pretty big royalties.

I still couldn't believe how every other costume was Danny Phantom. I was practically in a sea of white and black.

"Danny? What should I get?" Pele asked.

I started, and looked at the menu. Then I smiled, "I'll order for you, don't worry."

Pele nodded gratefully. Despite her power and confidence, she really was shy in regular day situations. Dani on the other hand, was practically a street kid. She mentioned once that she visited many festivals and celebrations all over the world. I heard her speak French once, to a foreign exchange student. That surprised me a lot.

I ordered for Pele, paid for everyone, and spotted a picnic table for us to sit at. Dani and I sat together, while Pele sat across form us.

She looked at her pizza for a second, perplexed, "What kind of piissa, is this? It seams familiar to me, somehow." She asked. She still hadn't gotten used to the word.

I smiled, "Hawaiian."

Her eyes lit up, and she took a bite. She chewed it for a second, "It's good!" She said.

I dared to ask a personal question, "So, you can taste food?"

Pele gave me an odd look, "All ghosts can taste food. Some more then others, and some can only taste some kinds of foods. I have a fairly broad range of taste."

Dani gobbled up her pizza up in less then a minute. Man, that girl can eat like an army. "I never thought about it, but I can't taste garlic," Dani added. "At least, not while I'm in- I mean, not right now."

I watched her for a second, when something crossed my mind. I leaned close to her ear, so no one but her could hear me. "How can you eat in your current state anyway?" I asked, and censored myself "Isn't it uncomfortable?

Dani swallowed, "Not once you get used to it. I eat on the fly all the time."

I frowned, and sat back up straight. It had started to bother me that I really didn't know much about what Dani had been through. She was on her own for an entire year, before I introduced her to Frostbite, and he gave her a place to stay. Even then, she didn't stay in one place for too long.

I was startled out of my train of thought by a poke in my side. I glared at the offender, "What is it now, Dani? Couldn't you have just asked?"

She pouted playfully, and pointed to my right, "See? Cotton Candy!"

I rolled my eyes, I knew exactly where that was going, "One or two?" I asked.

Dani shared a glance with Pele, "One, we'll share it," she said.

Pele nodded excitedly, and chatted with Dani as I got up.

The stand was about ten yards away. I got in line, and laughed at the pale-green Cotton Candy on display. They really went all the way to make this festival blue, green, black, and white, with some yellow lighting on the streetlights and lanterns. Main St. had been turned into a place almost unrecognizable, and I'd seen the place from every angle.

I was at the front of the line in no time, so I ordered one green Cotton Candy.

The girl behind the counter looked me up and down, "That is one seriously awesome costume, Dude. Best I've seen so far."

I think I may have blushed, "Thanks," I said.

I turned around, and made my way to the table. The crowd had gotten a little bit bigger, so people moved around more frantically then they did, just a few minutes earlier. I dodged around everyone pretty easily; the area I was in was quite a bit darker then the rest of the festival. Even so, I wound up crashing into someone.

Thankfully, the Cotton Candy was saved. I managed to keep it from hitting the ground.

"Would you mind getting off of me?" I asked, harshly.

"Well sorry," The girl said with a sharp tone.

She got up off of me oddly quickly. I gave her a look, and she extended her hand out to me.

"Really, I'm…sorry." A look crossed her face for a split second, the dim lights of the street made her eyes look extremely bright.

I grabbed her hand cautiously, and my ghost sense went off. I played it off as a cough, and acted casually. I stood up, and kept her within my sights.

The girl glared down at the ground, "Great, now my backpack's books, AND my candy are all over the place." She bent over and scooped up the candy into her pillowcase.

I grabbed the spilled contents of her backpack with my free arm, "Why don't we go over to the table to sort this all out? I've got friends waiting for me, there anyway."

The girl nodded absentmindedly, "Sure thing."

We walked together, and carried the various items as best as we could. Dani glanced at me wearily, so I must've been giving her a pretty intense look. I flashed my eyes, trying to say, _ghost,_ the best way that I could.

She nodded, then glanced at the girl next to me, frowned, rolled her eyes, and gave me a look that clearly said, _what's the joke here?_

I didn't give it a second thought. The ghost girl had some tricks up her sleeve, but no one could best me, Dani, and Pele three to one.

I set the books on the table, which got Pele's attention. _She'll know, _I thought.

Pele turned around and made eye contact with the girl. Then, they both squealed.

And I mean the kind of squeal that makes Justin Bieber fans cower in a corner, and cover their ears. Dani powered through it, confused. I slammed my hands into my ears and fell over, because of how strong my senses were. People around us flinched and glared.

Pele jumped up, and the girls embraced, candy and awareness forgotten.

"No way! I've been looking everywhere for you!" The girl squealed.

"I've been here, whipping the stripling into shape!" Pele said, her voice was easily two octaves higher then usual.

The girl laughed, "Striping? Only compared to the brutes you hang out with!"

Pele laughed, "Sit down, sit down!" The girl complied, "Dani, Danny…Danny get up, you're going to get road-rash."

I groaned and got up. I sat down next to Dani, "I'm am SO glad that you take so much after me," I told her.

Dani snorted, "Enough to not be crazy, too little to be clueless," she said.

"Huh?"

Pele and the girl had gone off in chatter again, "So, why did you come looking for me?" Pele asked the girl.

The girl shrugged, "I was across the continent, when I sensed explosive amounts of power. I didn't know who they were from, but a few days later as I was heading this way, I sensed your power and came flying." She smiled, "It has been like, far too long. I've been hanging out on earth for two years! I love it here! Now I know why you stick to Hawaii, earth ROCKS!"

Pele giggled. Dani and I blinked at the sound of it. She hugged the girl again, and turned to us, "Dani, Danny, this is Tara. She's no harm, so long as you hold no negative will." She gave me a meaningful look.

My face was indifferent, "Right now, I'm too confused and shocked to come to a conclusion about this girl. I think I snapped somewhere between the squealing, the million-mile-per-hour chatter, the squealing, and the squealing…"

Dani patted my back, "They make Jazz sound like you're best buddy don't they?"

I laughed. Then, turned to face the girl, "Be honest with me, who are you?"

She almost looked insulted, "Pele trusts me. Isn't that good enough for you?"

"Sorry, no. I deal with ghosts every day. I know nothing about you."

"You trust Pele, and how much do you know about her?"

I stuttered, "You win this round. Just stay out of trouble, please?"

She rolled her eyes, "I've spent countless days in the human world; I know how it all works. You don't have to be worried."

Pele, Dani, and Tara went off and started talking, and munching on the Cotten Candy I bought. At some point, one of them must have suggested that we get up and continue through the festival. I didn't actually catch onto that fact, until they got up and left.

When I caught up to Dani, I asked her about it.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "We told you twice, and asked you three times. Can't you keep up?"

Apparently not…

I took the time to get a good look at Tara, while the light was still good. She and Pele had been walking ahead of me. At first, I thought she was wearing her regular gear, since that fit the theme of the festival, but then I realized that it kind of looked familiar to me. Her hair was a reddish-color, and was arched up, and it even sparked a few times.

_Fire-core,_ I thought, _just like Pele, her hair shows how powered-up she is._

I tried guessing, but I just couldn't put my finer on it. Tara was very tall, and lean, probably over six foot two, for sure. She made Pele look kind of short and thick, actually. Although I may be clueless, I'm not stupid; so I did not DARE to say that out loud.

Finally, I got tired of guessing, so I powered through the people, and got in front of the girls. Thankfully, we came to a place well underneath a lantern, so I could see her clearly.

I gaped, "Just, WHAT am I supposed to think about that?"

Tara passed by me, "Nugh!" She said.

Dani punched me lightly, "What is your problem?" She asked.

I stuttered, "SHE'S DRESSED AS PLASMIUS!"

…

As we walked along, well, more like _they _walked while I tried to keep up, we noticed that it was becoming more and more crowded. The girls didn't mind, but I started to get worried that someone would walk by, and notice the cold spot I hoped wasn't too bad around me.

A minute of that, and everyone had gone from a crawl, to a dead stop. I noticed that many of the people there were kids and teens, and most of them were all wearing Phantom costumes.

I tapped some random guy's shoulder, "What going on here?" I asked.

He looked me up and down, "A costume competition the PHAN is hosting. They've been through all the categories, except the Danny Phantom category. The favorite costume wins."

I thanked him and repeated what he said to Dani.

She looked at me for a second, "Okay, you just HAVE to enter."

I laughed, "Get serious. I would be good for a few laughs, maybe, but I can't do this. I'd be putting myself out there. What if I won?"

Dani shook her head, "Danny, what would be funnier then if you won?"

"I don't know, Plasmius becoming best friends with Kempler?"

She paused, "That would be pretty hilarious, but no. The only thing funnier then if you, _being you,_ won the contest, would be if you lost!"

I though about it, "Alright, but you have to enter with me!"

Dani paled and glanced up at the stage, "But, then I'd have to get up there, in front of all of these people…"

I smiled, "Yep. Sign-up sheets are over there."

She gave me a look, "Oh, what the heck, why not?" She went and told Pele and Tara, who both laughed, and promised that they'd be cheering for us.

Then, we when off to a table and singed up, "Just take a number. Everyone keeps signing up as "Phantom" or whatever anyway, so we're just bothering with the numbers now."

…

"Thank you contestants, for your participation!"

Dani and I high-fived off stage. We both made the first three rounds. I was the finalist of the boys' section, Dani was the finalist of the girls' section, and there was a little boy, about four or five, who was the finalist of the kids' section.

We were having a blast! Both of our costumes were favorites, and the little boy's was pretty good too. He was a really spunky kid, with a lot of moves on stage. Dani and I just struck a few poses and smiled when we were up there.

The judges took a while, as if they didn't know whom the crowds favorite was. They asked the three of us to come up on stage to try and get a feel for the crowds favorite.

Between my outfit, Dani's "modification," and the kids' adorable mommy-made costume, even the crowd was at a stalemate.

The hostess bought time by making a short speech to thank everyone for coming to the festival, and for the contestant's participation. She also thanked the PHAN for hosting the event, and covering it. The crowd clapped, and a few guys behind cameras smiled and waved.

I took the time to make eye contact with one of the judges. She looked at me nervously, from the panel of three judges. I smiled, and discreetly nodded towards the little boy. He was having the time of his life, dressed up as his hero.

The judge relaxed and smiled, she understood. I did the same with one other judge, and he nodded as well, then I turned to the third judge, whom Dani had been silently communicating the same massage with.

As hard as we tried to be secret, quite a few people in the crowd noticed what we were doing, and smiled proudly at us.

The hostess spoke to the judges, and took their verdict.

"And the winner, of the PHAN's first Halloween costume contest is…Number 34!"

The crowd erupted into cheers, the little boy looked disappointed for a second.

Dani bent down to his level, "You're number 34!" She laughed.

The kid's eyes got large, "Y-yeah! Yay! Mommy, Mommy, I won!"

The boy ran cheering into his mother's arms off stage. Dani and I walked by when the boys Dad called us over and shook our hands, "You've made his entire year, you two. Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," his mother said. "Andy, what do you say to your fellow contestants?"

Andy looked at us, then to me with awe, "Thank you Mr. Danny Phantom, and um, Mr. Danny Phantom's sister."

Dani laughed and ticked his nose, "Cousin," she said.

Andy's parents laughed, "Alright Andy, the news people want to talk to you now."

"Okay Mommy. Bye, bye, Mr. Danny Phantom! Bye, bye, Mr. Danny Phantom's cousin!"

We laughed and waved. Pele and Tara walked up to us, "That was wonderfully kind," Pele said.

"Such a cute kid! Did you see how adorable it was when he nearly lost his wig? That blush and smile was so cute! I'm so glad you did that for him," Tara said.

Pele laughed at my expression, "Don't underestimate the joy of a she-ghost at the happiness of a child. Nothing makes us feel more complete."

Dani smiled, like she understood.

"Must mostly be a girl thing," I said.

Tara ran her hand through my hair, like Jazz does sometimes. "You're the one who thought to do it. Dani followed your lead."

I smiled. Someone called out from behind me.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Numbers 21 and 19, can I have a moment, please?"

I turned around at the familiar voice, "Mrs. Makamoto?"

* * *

><p>And, that's it for today! Sorry that I'm posting this so late in the day. I usually post late Saturday night so the other time-zones don't have to wait so long; I live on the west coast. I was separated from my computer last night.<p>

One more chapter, and this story is DONE! There's a poll up on my profile page. If you wouldn't mind going there and casting a vote, I'll be able to get another installment lined up that much faster.

Also, I finally got to see "Brave" yesterday! I'll just say; Disney brought the budget, Pixar brought the backbone!

See you Sunday!


	16. The Big Moment

I don't own DP! Thank you all for joining me, here we go for the finale!

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: The Big Moment.<p>

(POV: of Shelly Makamoto.)

"Mac, we're not getting anywhere here," I said, in a hopeless voice.

"Come on Shell, we still haven't gotten our 'big moment' yet, it's out there somewhere! We just have to keep looking," Mac said in his usual cheery voice.

"Spare me the pep talk, Mac. We've filmed three children throwing tantrums, one skinny teenager who got his underwear hung up on a streetlight, a few dozen girls dressed _down_ as "Phantom's Bride," and a mishap with a popcorn machine. Let's edit it into a montage, and go home."

Mac frowned a little, "Come on Shelly, you didn't put that costume on just to go home early, did you?"

I looked down at the cat-costume that Mac had picked out for me, last minute.

"And it goes so great with your heels, too!" Mac said.

I glared with a bit of a smile, "Cut it out, Mac."

He gave me a look I hadn't seen form him before, "Cut out what? We've hardly filmed anything at all! Now lets get out there, and get that montage!"

I let loose a small giggle, and followed him. Mac was wearing my brothers' old Navy uniform. It worked out, since it was practical for holding a camera, and kept him dressed up fit for the festival.

"I swear, Mac, sometimes I don't understand where you get that kind of energy."

"Argh!" Mac shouted to my surprise, "Me be strong on me oldie sea-legs! 'Tis a shame I lost me starboard leg, in the battle against Jack Sparrow, and his sea-worthy ship, the Black Pearl!"

I processed that, "First off: you're navy! Not a pirate! And," I grabbed his hat, "it's CAPTIN Jack Sparrow!" I strutted off in my heels with a laugh.

"And don't forget it!" I added.

Mac laughed and saluted with his free hand, "YES MA'AM!"

…

"It's official. I'm hopeless again," I said.

Mac frowned at me, "Shell, I don't want to let Derik down, but if you're truly not having any fun at all, then I'll pack up, and drive you home."

I sighed. I kind of wanted him to cheer me up somehow, I was complaining so that he would. I don't know, I was stressed. Hey, I'm a reporter, not a detective! I report what is already occurred; I wasn't supposed to be looking for something that wasn't already there! I didn't know what to do…Derik would fire me over it, would he?

Mac frowned and rested his camera at his side, "Why don't we just walk around for a while? I know where there's a Cotton Candy stand…and I know where my wallet is, and I also know how much you LOVE that stuff!"

He had my attention, "Yes please," I said, even though he never really asked.

Mac gave me a wide smile, "This way, ma'am!"

I gave half a sigh, and half a laugh, "You can quit that anytime now."

Mac kept marching, "Yes ma'am!" He said.

I gave a full laugh that time, and kept my pace with him as we walked among the crowd together.

…

The candy stand was within my sights, "Oh! It's green! I've never had green Cotton Candy before!"

Mac laughed, "Always one to try something new, aren't you?"

I stuck my tongue out at him, for the knowing joke. I was always a picky eater, even when it came to candy. Cotton Candy was one of the only types of candy I would eat as a little girl, believe it or not.

Mac got in line, "One please," he said to the lady.

I paused, "Don't you want any?" I asked.

Mac gave me an almost hurtful look, "Sorry, I assumed that we were going to share it…"

I back peddled, "No, no, that's alright! Just don't be disappointed if you don't get much!"

Mac smiled, and received our delicious treat. He handed me the stick, which the candy sat on. I immediately ripped off a peace, and tossed it in my mouth. I enjoyed the instant sensation of the candy disappearing on my tongue, and then I savored my favorite flavor.

"Yum," I said.

Mac hesitated, and then took a peace. "Hey, I'm surprised that you didn't try and snatch it away from me."

I gave him a comical look, "Don't be silly, Mac. It's Cotton Candy, not chocolate."

Mac laughed, "Oh course! How could I forget! Forgive me, for forgetting such an important fact of the female lifestyle…Chocolate is the first priority, in the realm of sweets.."

"You're forgiven," I said smugly.

Mac bowed mockingly, "Thank you, my queen."

I laughed, tore off another piece, and popped in into my mouth.

Mac laughed, and adjusted the grip on his camera. He'd been doing that awfully frequently, so I wondered if his hands were sweating, was he getting hot?

I shrugged off the hunch, and watched as the crowds crawled on by. Just like Derik had predicted, the festival had been a big hit. The later it got that night, the more and more people that seemed to come.

My attention was brought to a particular area, where I though I noticed something glowing. I dismissed the thought immediately, seeing as everyone wore some weird glowing do-dads in one form or another.

Mac tapped my shoulder lightly, I moved the Cotton Candy closer to him in response.

"No, that's not it, I just," Mac was interrupted by someone crying out. "Oomph!"

"Would you mind getting off of me?" Some teenage boy asked.

"Well sorry," some pushy young lady added.

I watched with a little pity as the two young adults wrestled to get up and gather their things. I would've tried to help, but I couldn't get to them fast enough anyway. Soon enough, the pair had gathered their things, and walked away.

"Too bad," I said absentmindedly, "That was the biggest moment of this entire festival. Pedestrian crash! Stop the presses…"

Mac grabbed some of the Cotton Candy right off of the stick, "Oh well. Guess we'll have to look elsewhere."

I glanced at Mac wearily. He had taken on an irritated tone, almost angry. I frowned, and finally realized that I had spoiled his night. I probably ruined it a long time ago.

Mac glanced around, "Hey, there's big gathering of people over by the pavilion. Why don't we go check it out? In the least, we might find some place private for you to pout."

Yep. My crankiness, and general unpleasantness, had ruined his night. Aren't I an awesome friend?

"Sure," I said, in a monotone, defeated voice. How could I even smile for the camera at that point?

Mac and I soon came to the pavilion. They were having some kind of costume competition. Apparently, the PHAN was hosting, so we weren't allowed to film anything at all, until and all the categories were announced, so we had been told.

Just like Mac had stated, there were a few benches around, so I sat down on the nearest one.

Mac sat down beside me with his camera in his lap, "Bad day for you?" He asked.

"You wouldn't know the feeling," I said with my face towards the ground.

Mac shifted his weight, "You might be surprised."

I turned to face him. He was giving me a look I'd seen a few times before, like when my goldfish died when I was ten, or whenever I lost my teddy bear as a little girl.

"Right now," I said, "the world could end and I wouldn't notice."

Mac smirked, "Well then. I'll be sure to have my camera ready so that I can properly relay what you've missed."

"Oh Mac. Not now, please." Mac frowned at me again.

…

We sat in silence for a while, neither of us really wanted to get involved in anything at that point.

Mac fidgeted suddenly, "Hey look! They're announcing the last category, let's go."

I sighed, "Mac, did you forget? We're not allowed to film."

Mac snorted, "Yeah, until the last category is announced, and it has been!" Mac grabbed my hand and helped me up. He hoisted his camera back onto his shoulder, "Come on, Derik is going to broadcast whatever we have at nine o'clock sharp. Whether we go live, or play a montage of garbage. Plus, you're going to give a live statement about the festival anyway, so look chirpy!"

"Fine, whatever."

Mac hoisted his camera high enough to see the stage. He stood below it, and viewed the screen from an uncomfortable angle. I was slightly concerned that he would get a bad kink in his neck.

Mac's face softened, "Aww, that's so sweet. That little kid's going to be so happy."

I tried to look over the crowd, "Why?" I asked.

"And the winner, of the PHAN's first Halloween costume contest is…Number 34!"

Mac let the camera hover for a moment, and then he pulled it down and began to work on it rapidly.

"I'm sending that last footage to the station, they'll love it!"

"What happened?" I asked.

Mac turned the cameras digital screen so that I could see, "See for your self."

I paid close attention to the screen, "Wow, that is so sweet of them! That little boy must be on top of the world right now."

"Yeah," Mac said, with a hesitant glance at me, "Hey, look! They're off the stage, why don't we go talk to them? Get our big moment?"

My mood had dramatically improved because of those two kids, "Sure, at the very least, they've earned a little bit of fame for what they did."

Mac pulled out his cell phone, "Shell, lets go! We're on in thirty seconds!"

I chocked on air, "Excuse me! Excuse me! Numbers 21 and 19, can I have a moment, please?"

The only male member of what appeared to be a group of four turned to face me, "Mrs. Makamoto?"

I walked up to him, "May we have a moment with the both of you on screen?"

The young man glanced at his sister, and then nodded.

"Thank you," I turned to Mac, "start rolling!" I said in my renewed chirpy voice. Maybe we would be able to pull this off.

* * *

><p>(POV: of Mac. Yes, Mac finally get's a POV!)<p>

Shell was back, and just as chirpy as ever. It was day and night, really. She was just so beautiful whenever she was happy like that. She just loved being a reporter; she belonged in front of the lens of a camera.

Huh? Oh right, the festival.

I gave the three, two, one, countdown, and Shelly gave the two runner-ups brief instructions on how to behave on camera. They kids nodded, as shaky smirks appeared on their faces.

_Nerves? _I thought. _No, can't be, their hands aren't shaking._

Shells spoke into her microphone, "Yes, Tiffany. I'm coming to you live," the Boys' ears perked up at that, "here on Main St. where the excitement over the contest, which you just watched a part of, is still ragingly high! I am here with the two runner-ups, who as you've seen, practically forfeited first-place so that our little-Phantom could claim the crown."

Shelly turned to the two kids, "So, what made you two decide to do such a kind deed?" She passed the microphone perfectly between them, and her.

They both shrugged. The boy spoke up with a smile, "I guess that's what'd I do for my cousin, here." He gestured to the girl. So they were cousins, not siblings. Funny, I could've sworn they looked more closely related.

The Cousin, blushed sweetly, "And I guess for me, it was just how cute he was."

Shell smiled honestly, "Yes, such a cute kid. So, let's talk about your costumes, since they were indeed favorites."

The kids glanced at each other, and their lips twitched.

_Twitched? If they were nervous, they'd be quivering, not twitching…are they…trying, not to laugh?_

"Where did you get such wonderful costumes?" Shells asked.

The Boy tapped the Girl, "We made ours," she said. "Our uh, parents, taught us how."

_Huh, it's like she's not used to saying the word, 'parents,' _I mused.

The Boy chuckled lightly, "We've had them for a while," he said with a killer smile.

The Girl snickered. I blinked, what was up with them?

"I see." Shell asked another question, "So then, can you tell us how you got that amazing glowing effect?"

"Trade secret," the boy said with a playful smirk.

"Luminescent gel, watered down, and sprayed on our…costumes."

The Goy gave the Girl a half-confused look like, _'why'd you trip me up like that?'_

The Girl shrugged, and the issue was forgotten between the two smiling cousins.

Funny, they both had the same incredible smile, and eyes, and mouth. In fact, they could've been twins, her just smaller then him. I still couldn't get over the idea that they were just cousins…that, or something else was bothering me.

"So, what do you think of the festival?" Shelly asked.

"I love it!" Dani said, "I'm having so much fun, I've made a new friend, eaten tons of new foods, and I think I may have gotten over my fear of stages!"

The Girl flinched at her own outburst, then smiled shyly, as if she hadn't quite meant to say so much.

"That's wonderful!" She turned to the Boy, "How does your evening compare?"

The Boy gave a sarcastic smirk, and tilted his head a bit, "I'm just the wallet of this operation."

Shell gave an exaggerated laugh; the Girl gave a sarcastic one.

"Hey!" The Boy said, "Anything to keep the girls out of nagging-mode, is worth whatever the cost."

Shell gave an honest, knowing giggle, "Good boy!" She said.

To add to the effect, The Girl reached up and patted her cousin on his head.

"Well, that doesn't mean we'll stop teasing you!" She said in high-pitched doggie-talk. The boy gave her tolerant, but amused look.

Shell smiled broadly, "A message to all men, everywhere!" She said.

"Amen!" The two young ladies in the background said. I recalled that they were a part of the group, too.

I grabbed Shelly's attention for a second, and signaled that she needed to sign off within thirty seconds.

Shell's eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree, "Well, thank you so much for giving us a few moments of your time."

The Girl giggled, "Sure thing!" She said.

The Boy flashed that incredible smile again, "Not a problem Mrs. Makamoto."

I couldn't help but smile myself; the kid really was having a good time. I glanced at the two ladies that were accompanying the cousins.

_No wonder,_ I thought, _when I was his age, I would've died happy just to be insulted by stunners like them. Glad I got over that stage..._

Shelly turned back to me.

"Bye everyone!" The two cousins said in union.

Shelly went off for a few seconds as the two walked away and signaled to their companions.

Absentmindedly, I slowly started turning the camera towards them, until Shelly was almost out of frame.

The two women turned around to face away from me, the Girl winked at the camera, and the Boy turned around.

"Hey, Mrs. Makamoto!" He shouted.

Shelly was snapped out of her reporters-trance because of the outburst. She spun on her heels. He'd caught me off guard as well, so my camera was on him in a second.

He laughed, and flashed his amazing eyes, and smile.

He did a three-fingered mock salute, "Good Talk!" He said.

Then the quartet _leapt_ into the air…

The Boy, Danny Phantom, laughed the whole way up and out of ear-shot…

Shelly dropped her microphone. The crowd gasped, and stood silently for a moment.

Some strong soul started to clap…

And the rest of the gathered people soon followed...

I sighed in relief, turned my camera off, and pulled out my blue-tooth receiver, which hurt my ear with all the excited screaming that came from the other end.

I grabbed Shells by her wrist, and gently brought her out of her shock.

"Shell? Why don't we spend the rest of the evening together, without distractions?"

Shelly stared at me, before a look came across her face that I'd never seen before.

"I'd…I'd like that…"

I could swear that there were green-fireworks erupted at that moment…

* * *

><p>(POV: Narrator.)<p>

Two ghosts, and two hybrids soared through the skies, full of laughter.

"I can't believe you did it again!" Dani laughed out.

"No kidding!" The young lady Tara, added, "I still remember the last time you pulled a stunt like that! You had the presses going from the South Pole, to the North! Awesome!"

The volcano demi-goddess smiled as she flew in a much more stable line then her excited companions, "Perhaps one day, I'll see the humor in this," she said.

Then, there was the only boy in the group, Danny Phantom. His hands shook with excitement, and his face was sore from his constant smiles.

Unable to contain his pent-up stress and energy, Danny opened his fists, and formed two, small, fire-orbs.

He gained altitude quickly, and left a trail of flames is his wake; his companion's dodges out of his way. He twisted through the air and left a spiral of flames. Then finally, he threw his arms up and over his head, and created a wave of flames as broad as two football fields.

"Look out world," he said, and then shouted out, "DANNY PHANTOM IS BACK!"

...

The presses went crazy over the reappearance of Phantom, and the vastly light-show he had created that night hadn't missed the news stands, either.

Phycologists reviewed the new footage, and were overall completely stunned at how human the ghosts seemed to be. They added "Witty," and, "kind-natured," to Phantom's list of character traits.

With Danny Phantom's return, Mayor Vlad Masters had to keep quiet for a while as a result of his previous comments. His actions remained obscured from Team Phantom. All the while, the Guys in White were being pressured on a nation-wide level to cease the hunting of Danny Phantom, and his cousin by relation.

In the meantime, Danny Phantom's popularity level had risen to 72% of citizens in his favor, and a mere 28% against him. The highest approval rating for the ghost boy.

Said ghost boy, could care lass about statistics. He had pulled one off, on an entire crowd with his cousin, and Pele had become more relaxed with the presence of her friend, Tara. Tara, of course, hadn't quite gained the full trust of team Phantom overnight, but time changes everything.

Amity Park was peaceful.

At least, Amity Park was peaceful...

THE END.

* * *

><p>I love that little bit with Danny at the end. Review if you please, and tell me what you think of this story. :)<p>

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for being so supportive. It really means a lot to me to be so passionate about something, and to have so many people love what I do with that passion. The reviews have been helpful, and supportive. The people at this site are so nice, and I have grown as a writer in so many ways because of you. Thank you.

…

On a more informative note, I will continue with this in the future, with "Operations and Origins," where we'll get to know the history of ghosts like Tara, and Pele, Vlad will come back swinging, and Tucker will be pushed to his limits. That much, I can pretty much say for sure now.

This and the last book were intended to set the stage for a much bigger AU I have in mind for Danny. Trust me, it's going to be crazy, I'm already a little nervous about how much weirdness you guys can handle. It'll probably be quite a bit more serious then the "A Stroll" series, as I've come to call it, but I'll still try and keep things as light as possible. To be honest, I think I'm prepared to move forward on the foundation I've set up with all the new characters, and powers.

Once I get all the details straight, and the first few chapters written out, I'll be back to posting every Sunday! In the meantime, AotKK looks like it needs some more one-shots. :D

I can't promise anything, but I'd say that OaO will be started by late August, or early September. Wish me luck!

See you later! :)


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